Essay is Due Sunday May 6th at 11:59 pm.
The task of Essay 4 is an expository one. You’re going to describe the basic outline of Aristotle’s Metaphysics.
Your essay should have the following five- or six-paragraph structure:
In ¶1, you should introduce the essay. Here is a formula:
Introduce the question of Metaphysics.
Summarize ¶2 in one sentence.
Summarize ¶3 in one sentence.
Summarize ¶4 in one sentence.
Summarize ¶5 in one sentence.
(Note: Write ¶1 last.)
In ¶2, you should define what the project of Metaphysics is. Explain what Aristotle’s task is, what he thinks the importance of the subject is, and perhaps (for style points) why he thinks at least one of the approaches described in book 1 fails to answer the questions raised by Metaphysics.
In ¶3, you should describe and explain Aristotle’s defense of the legitimacy of “first philosophy” in book IV. Write a page paper – Describe the worries Aristotle raises in book IV, and how Aristotle resolves them.
In §4, you should describe and explain Aristotle’s argument in book VII that the being of something is its essence, and that the essence of something is its form.
In §5, you should describe and explain why form is insufficient for understanding the being of something, and how and why in Aristotle’s view (in book IX) actuality resolves this insufficiency. Begin by articulating the insufficiency of form, then describe actuality, then explain how actuality answers the worry.
In §6, if you like, summarize the results of the essay.
Your essay should be at least 1,100 words long.
