Step 1. Model Case
a) provide a concrete case that would make one say Yes to the question, i.e., a clear, uncontroversial case
a concrete case is a specific, particular case, no general statements, one that we can visualize
needs to be a short paragraph DO NOT WRITE A SHORT STORY
if it contains persons, NAME only the person you want us to focus on, since when you name more it becomes confusing
e.g., Are animals crazy?
b) why is this a good example of a model case?
here you should merely state the obvious (do not add new elements to the case)
if you cant say why its a good case, then you should come up with another example
c) Rorschach lists (picture the concrete case in your mind)
for each concept, write down (list) words or phrases that come to youdo not censor them
the idea is very similar to the Rorschach (inkblot) test in psychology
in fact we will call these Rorschach lists
animalscrazy
Step 2. Contrary Case
a) provide a clear concrete case in which one would answer No to the question
b) why is this a good example of a contrary case?
c) Rorschach lists
animalscrazy
Conceptual Lecture 2
Step. 3 Borderline Case
a) provide a concrete case in which people will feel pulled simultaneously toward both Yes and No to the conceptual question.
E.g. for Are emotions irrational?, you need a particular case of emotions that in one way is irrational and in another way is not.
b) why is this a good example of a borderline case?
say why it pulls to Yes
say why it pulls to No
c) Rorschach lists
emotions irrational
Step 4: Related Concept
concepts are related to, and depend on, other concepts (not just as synonyms)
e.g. the concept of punishment is related to e.g. the concept of crime
a) Name a concept related to one or both of the original concepts
it must not be an example or type or kind or meaning of either of the original concepts or a synonym of either of them
play it safe: dont take a chance with a concept that is partly an example/type/kind/meaning of either of the original concepts
b) why is this a good related concept?
you should make clear that it is not an example/type/kind/meaning of either of the original concepts or a synonym of them
then, you should state at least one way the related concept is related to one or both of the original concepts
e.g., love is an example/type/kind/meaning of emotion, so we cant use it
e.g., violence is not an example/type/kind/meaning of emotion or of irrational or a synonym, so we can use it; and its clearly related to both concepts as emotions sometimes lead to violence and violence is sometimes called irrational
c) create a new conceptual question using the related concept and one (or both) of the concepts in question (without changing any of them in the slightest)
it must not be a question of fact (cause, require, etc.)
nor a moral/value question (good, wrong, etc.)
it has got to be grammatically correct and not a nonsense question
it has to be an open question, not a question that obviously answers yes or no
play it safe, try not to use connector terms between the two concepts
then do a complete Step 1 (a, b, c) and Step 2 (a, b, c), using the original concepts for your Rorschach list headings
Step 5: Invented Case
a) beginning with the words Imagine a world where, describe a world in specific respects where things are very different from the real world
b) why is this a good example of an invented case?
you need to explain, by applying the 7 criteria below:
(i) its got to be invented (not from real life)
(ii) it cannot mirror or parallel the real world (e.g. space aliens who live on Saturn and move to one of its moon for a better lifethis mirrors people who live in Toronto and move to Florida for a better life)
(iii) its got to be relevant to the concepts (Imagine a world where people dont have emotions cannot possibly help us with the question Are emotions irrational)
(iv) it shouldnt be crazy crazy
(v) we should be able to visualize the case
(vi) it should not be true of some people (the min. for some is one)
(vii) it shouldnt try to obviously answer the question
c) Rorschach lists
Conceptual Lecture 3
Step 6. Social Context (objective, third person)
a) Who would ask this question, under what circumstances would they ask it, and why would they ask it?
use observational language only
need an plausible bridge and have the person you are focusing on explicitly ask the conceptual question
dont use professors in class etc. (they ask all sorts of conceptual questions) or someone in a debateuse everyday people
Are emotions irrational?
b) Why is this a good context to place the question in? (justification)
= what difference would it make to the questioner if that person concluded yes, and if no?
Y= ?
N = ?
c) Rorschach lists
emotions
irrational
Step 7. Emotional Context (subjective, first person)
closely connected to social context, and sometimes they overlap, so try to use examples/cases that are different
here the context is emotional (subjective), not social (objective)
a) State immediately: What sort of feeling or worry of yours would cause you to ask this question, specify the context, then state why would you ask it?
you need to role play here (to use acting language)
you need a plausible bridge and have them ask the conceptual question
b) Why is this a good context to place the question in? (justification)
= what difference would it make to you if you concluded yes, concluded no?
c) Rorschach lists
Step 8. Practical Results
all about consequences
whether or not we like the answer is irrelevant
a) What would the real world be like if the answer to the question is Yes?
range over lots of categories, one or two sentences for each
some, if not obvious, will need a brief because
b) What would the real world be like if the answer to the question is No?
give lots of categories, one or two sentences for each
c) Which one of these worlds is closer to our own world (here in Toronto)? (brief why, focusing on a few of the categories)
d) Rorschach lists based on c)
Conceptual Lecture 4
Step 9. Results
a) Total Rorschach Lists: one list for the primary concept, one for the secondary concept
simply copy and paste from your Steps 1-8
b) Long list of Meanings:
looking repeatedly through your Total Rorschach lists, draw out the different meanings (explicit or implicit) for your two concepts giving each a brief label (a word or phrase)
meanings are from ordinary language and answer the question, What do you mean by x?
then briefly define (sentence) each meaning (using an example only if needed) an itemized list
Note: meanings are NOT related concepts or features
you have to figure out whether you have an actual meaning
ask yourself questions in contexts of ordinary usage
Note: the purpose of this exercise is NOT to bring out all the meanings of the two terms, ONLY the meanings that come out of your own personal Rorschach lists
hence DO NOT consult dictionaries or email classmates to see what they got
c) Short list of Meanings: For each label in your long list, give a brief rationale for why that meaning makes it into the short list or not
i.e., you have to plug it into the conceptual question, one label at a time
then, you have to specifically tell me why it makes sense or does not make sense
a question that makes sense is one that people would tend to answer rather than look at you like youre nuts
nonsense questions do not make sense, people are not going to try to answer yes or no
e.g., Is money irrational? Money is not the sort of thing that can be rational or irrational, so money does not make it to the shortlist
do not accept grammatically incorrect questions, e.g., Is educated irrational?
but if the problem is caused merely because of your label, then go back and alter your label so that the question reads grammatically correct
e.g., Is educated irrational? ? Is education irrational?
d) Conditionals + Ultimate Answer to the Conceptual Question (Yes, No, or Qualified)
begin with a quick tally of short list labels
then use only your short list meanings to make conditionals
suppose you have Is X Y?
X is the primary concept, Y is the secondary concept
you are comparing all possible combinations between X and Y
X Y 2 x 3 makes 6 conditionals
a m
b n
c
each conditional should read If by [primary concept] you mean [use the label] and if by [secondary concept] you mean [use the label], then yes, X is Y, because . [explain using only the definitions]
the because must follow solely from the meanings in 9 b) and you have to tell me so
what is true of the world, e.g. of individual people or statistically, is totally irrelevant when answering a conditional
you have to ask yourself whether the second meaning necessarily follows from, or is necessarily connected with, the first meaning
What ifs? are totally irrelevant
some (extremely rare few) will be Y and N, then Yes because ., No because .
then you give your ultimate answer to the conceptual question
either a Yes (when all the conditionals are yes), No (when all the conditionals are no), or Qualified (when you have any mixture), followed by a because
e.g., Are human rights anti-democratic?
a) pretend list
b) Long List
Human Rights
natural rights: moral claims and entitlements that all humans are born with, e.g., the right to own property
Anti-Democratic
contrary to voting: being against or trying to undermine a popular vote.
c) Short List
Human Rights
Are natural rights anti-democratic? Natural rights makes it to the shortlist because it makes sense in the conceptual question. The answer could be either yes or no, and I think most people would say no.
Anti-Democractic
Are human rights contrary to voting? Contrary to voting makes it to the shortlist because it makes sense in the conceptual question. The answer could be either yes or no, and I think most people would say no.
d) Conditionals
Human Rights Anti-Democratic
natural rightscontrary to voting
1×1 = 1 conditional
If by human rights one means natural rights and if by anti-democratic one means contrary to voting, then no, human rights are not anti-democratic, because moral claims and entitlements that all humans are born with does not mean that one must be against voting or try to undermine a popular vote.
the ultimate answer is no, because I have only one conditional and it is a no.
Conceptual Lecture 5
the essay involves no external sources whatsoever (including dictionaries); it should all be your own work
Staple + Cover Page (typed) + Steps 19 (typed) + Essay (starts on separate page, typed, dbl. space, 12-pt font, Times New Roman or Garamond, no extra space between paragraphs)
no folders or binders
Opening Paragraph
state your conceptual question
state how many long list meanings you have for each concept (nothing more)
state your ultimate answer to the conceptual question
do nothing more (avoid flourishes etc.)
you may use first person
indented paragraphs (no extra space between paragraphs)
Body of the Essay
begin with a guide line, saying that you are now going to turn to the meanings of the concepts
never refer to your Steps 19 or any of your cases
never use bold or underlining in your essay; to refer to a concept, use italics
in the essay we are only dealing with the results of our steps
(i) provide a separate paragraph for each meaning in your long list
in each paragraph, provide the label and the definition you gave in 9b and the rationale for whether it makes it into the short list that you gave in 9c
at the end of this section of the essay, provide a summary of how many short list meanings you have for each concept
(ii) begin with a guide line, saying you are now turning to your conditionals
these will be the same as in your Step 9
each conditional gets its own separate paragraph
the process of explanation
your goal is to make things clear and concise (and use an example if it helps)
but you must be clear in your own mind to begin with
then you have to check your writing to see if it really says what you meant to say
Concluding Paragraph
Start with In sum, or In conclusion,
then state how many short list meanings you had for each concept
then state how many of your conditional were Yes and how many were No
then state what your ultimate conclusion to the conceptual question is (Yes, No, or Qualified)
do absolutely nothing more!
Note
do not email me (or anyone else) questions about your assignment
this is not an Internet course
the teaching is over
you are to fly alone, you are not to collaborate with anyone
using a dictionary will result in a zero grade for Step 9
do not email me your assignment, not even for verification
the course kit tells you where to take late assignments
computer excuses will not be accepted
Essay (suppose now I have more than one meaning for each concept)
The conceptual question I am doing is, Are human rights anti-democratic? I have three longlist meanings for human rights and two longlist meanings for anti-democratic. My ultimate answer to the conceptual question is qualified.
Starting with human rights, the first meaning I have is .
The second meaning I have is natural rights. By natural rights I mean moral claims and entitlements that all human are born with, such as the right to own property. Natural rights makes it to the shortlist because it makes sense to ask, Are natural rights anti-democratic? I think most people would answer no to that question.
The third and last meaning I have for human rights is .
Turning now to anti-democratic, the first of the two meanings I have is contrary to voting. By contrary to voting I mean .
The second and last meaning I have for anti-democratic is .
I have now finished with the meanings of the concepts. I have three shortlist meanings for natural rights and two shortlist meanings for anti-democratic. I therefore have six conditionals.
If by human rights one means natural rights, and if by anti-democratic one means contrary to voting, then
If by
If by
If by
If by
If by
In conclusion, I have three shortlist meanings for human rights and two shortlist meanings for anti-democratic. Of the six conditionals, four were yes and two were no. My ultimate answer to the conceptual question is therefore qualified.
Conceptual Analysis Assignment
Name:
Student #:
Course Name and #:
Professors Name:
Dept. Name and Location:
