For your third report, each student (or group of
students) will be assigned a reading
from our Anselm of Canterbury reading:
- Proslogion
- On Truth
- On Free Will
- On the Incarnation of the Word
- On the Fall of the Devil
- On the Virgin Conception and Original Sin
- On the Procession of the Holy Spirit (1-2, 13-16)
You will apply the Toulmin method of analysis to
uncover the overarching argumentative shape of Anselm's writing. Your report should include the
following:
- A brief overview of Anselm's overall argument
- An outline of his key claims
- The evidence (data) he uses to buttress his chief
claims
- Each claim's warrant and backing
- Any qualifications he makes
- The conditions of rebuttal--these can either be
ones that he provides or ones that you suggest
The best way to organize this is to list the data,
warrant, backing, qualifiers, and rebuttals with each claim. You should
limit your report to five to seven claims. You are looking for the most
important ones. Sometimes the other claims (often listed in the chapter
headings) will serve as his warrant or backing. Other times, the warrant
and qualifications will be more implicit.
The total presentation should take no more than 15 minutes, so you'll want to practice ahead of time and plan to be
both concise in your findings and assured in your organization. Please
provide a handout for each member of the class, including the instructor.
I will evaluate your report and presentation
according to the following criteria:
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