This assignment has gone through a number of reschedulings and revised descriptions. This new description must be the last one because, frankly, there's not enough time to change it again.
For this assignment, note that you have two options:
Option #1: Find material that responds to or addresses Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Either write an expository paper on the material or form a new thesis of your own in response to the material you find.
Option #2: Read a text that is an alternative or response to Collins' The Language of God. Based on this text and on Collins' work, provide your own question and answer it.
Both options are described below. You must pick one and turn in your first version of the paper by the deadline given at the bottom of this page.
A note about your audience: Unlike previous writing assignments, here it is unlikely that your reviewers (and your professor) are going to be familiar with the work on which you are writing. Thus, the expectations are higher that you explain relevant parts of the work in order to lead the reader through your presentation.
Kuhn's book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, was itself revolutionary. It was a widely read work that spawned a great deal of continuations, oppositions, and analysis. For much of the half-century since its writing, it has been a standard academic text to which there are many responses.
Your assignment is to find some response to Kuhn. The response may be in the form of a journal article or a (portion of a) book. I recommend that you search forward in the citation chain -- that is, looks for article and books that cite Kuhn. Note that many of these may cite Kuhn tangentially, whereas you need to find something whose main concern is to address some element from Kuhn's work. Expect that you will need to spend real time searching for such a work.
What to write: After find a good work that responds to Kuhn, you can write one of two types of papers:
Expository: Describe this new work that you've found. Relate it to the original work by Kuhn. Evaluate the arguments presented and determine whether you find those arguments persuasive. Indicate the consequences of (dis)agreeing with the thesis of the work you have found. I expect that this type of paper will be the more commonly chosen one.
Responsive: State your own thesis in response to the work you've found. Support your thesis with persuasive arguments. I do not anticipate many of you choosing this form, since formulating a new thesis may be difficult depending on the type of material you find. However, if you do develop a thesis that you believe you can defend, I encourage you to attempt this form of paper.
The paper should again be in a 12-point Times font, with 1-inch margins. It should be no more than 6 pages, and you should strongly consider making a concise argument that requires only 4 to 5 pages.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of interesting books that we did not read in class and that present viewpoints that are either alternatives or in direct opposition to Collins':
Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion.
Bernard Haisch, The God Theory.
Sam Harris, The End of Faith.
William Dembski, Uncommon Dissent.
Christopher Hitchens, god is not Great.
Betrand Russell, Religion and Science. [Yes, the book from class of which we only had time for a small part. There's much more in it.]
Bertrand Russell, Why I Am Not a Christian.
Sigmund Freud, The Future of an Illusion.
Any of these, in different ways, addresses topics that are interesting to our debate about the conflict between religion and science, the underpinnings of both, and the future of both. You may also find another text of your own choosing and propose it as a potential one for this assignment.
What to write: Picking up on any key theme from one of these texts, formulate your own question and answer it. Be sure to pick something interesting about which you will want to write, and about which your readers will want to read.
The paper should again be in a 12-point Times font, with 1-inch margins. It should be no more than 6 pages, and you should strongly consider making a concise argument that requires only 4 to 5 pages.
You must upload a PDF version of your paper using this assignment's submission web page. You will need to login using your Amherst College username and password to submit your work.