The primary goal of philosophy journal entries

The primary goal of these philosophy journal entries is to practice critically analyzing (describing + explaining + discussing)
the course material. You may also attempt to critically analyze current events or real world issues by applying the course material
to them. Your journal should be roughly 500 words (2 pages).
Describe: Provide definitions or simple sentence descriptions of some concept, idea, etc. from the readings or lectures.
For example: “Normative identity is our identity in terms of the story we tell ourselves, including our beliefs and interests.”
Explain: Illustrate for your reader what the thing is that you have just described. Explanations may include examples, and are
typically a few sentences long.
For example: “My narrative identity includes being a philosopher, being a Minnesotan…”
Discuss: This is the place for your original ideas, critiques, questions, and insights. When discussing something, you will want
to describe and explain the important background information, argument, or other significant detail they need to understand
what you will raise here. You then discuss the topic of your journal by, e.g., comparing and contrasting some principle, argument, or idea with other competing ones; you might introduce a new example that is importantly similar or different from the ones
in the assigned reading; you might raise an objection to an argument or idea, or alternatively you might defend an argument or idea.
You should follow a rough checklist:
ˆ Have I described the relevant concepts, technical terms, arguments, or examples so that a reader who is unfamiliar with
what I have read can understand what I am saying?
ˆ Have I explained well by providing examples and illustrations where appropriate that make clear the argument, example,
case study, or other significant content?