Teaching

A student paper or thesis must be unmistakably your own work and may therefore only be supervised to a limited degree. In the case of term papers, the support is optional, for the final theses steps 1) and 2) are mandatory.

• 1) The support begins with a consultation. The purpose is to fix a topic and rough outline.
• 2) In a further meeting, a written outline and a summary of the intended project (up to two pages long) will be discussed. Outline and summary need to have been submitted by e-mail at least one week before the meeting. (Optional for term papers. This is where the supervision of term papers ends, except for occasional queries if problems arise. A revision of a term paper after submission is only possible if you have failed).
• 3) You will be assigned to a supervisor from the chair's team. You can contact your supervisor until you submit your completed work, but the supervisor will not read and correct your texts (for an exception, see bullet point 5). If the questions become rampant, the supervisor will alert you.
• 4) Each student is given the opportunity to discuss his or her project or relevant preliminary considerations or literature on the project in the research seminar. (No write-up of the presentation is required.)
• 5) An excerpt of a maximum of six pages (preferably pages where you are at work and one can see if you analyze thoroughly enough) can be submitted at least four weeks before you submit your work. Your supervisor will then provide feedback.

• Term papers are to be submitted in print in the secretary's office of the chair.
• Final theses are to be submitted in print at the Student Services.
• A Word-file is to be sent to your Professor by E-Mail.
• In addition to your name, the title page also requires your course of study, the number of semesters and an e-mail address. 
• Abstracts of term papers: 
  Can be submitted up to 4 weeks prior to the final submission date.
• Signatures during the semester-break: 
  Please consider the absence of staff when planning ahead. If possible, do not make any enquiries in August.
• Presentations and oral examinations are more demanding for master's students.

Precise and structured reasoning, comprehensible writing, correct interpretation and rhetorical conciseness are needed across all areas, but especially in philosophy. Often this is required during your studies, but not taught.

Here (PDF, 578 kB) you will find some practical tips and guidance on structured reading and writing (Chapter 1), definitions and explanations (Chapter 2), written argumentation (Chapter 3) and presentation and discussion (Chapter 4).

A few thoughts on the use of Chat GTP.  First, of course, reasons not to have the bot write your assignments entirely.

Why are you studying philosophy? Because you are interested in exciting questions, want to answer them for yourself, learn certain techniques, and want good grades overall in order to be successful in your professional life. You put all of that at risk when you have someone else write your papers. You miss out on developing your own answers to the exciting questions of philosophy, because that is best achieved in longer written papers. When writing, you experience a whole new understanding of things. If these things are important to you, you cannot delegate them.
So you lose philosophy when you abuse it. In addition, if this is noticed, you risk being accused of cheating. This can also occur unconsciously. Chat GPT only reproduces thoughts that have already been articulated. It leaves you in the dark about the origin, but your examiner may recognize the origin that you do not disclose, and the plagiarism is complete.It is also extremely unwise to jeopardize your final exam in this way. There is an oral defense of the written paper, during which it will become apparent if you did not write it yourself. But you can only learn this if you write the papers yourself; otherwise, it is uncharted territory. If you are looking for a degree that only qualifies you for quick money through good grades, then don't bother with philosophy anyway. It's far too difficult. The best way to philosophize is through detailed feedback on longer written assignments. That's what I've learned. If term papers are regularly abused, we have to block the best path for dedicated students because of the cheaters.

How can you use the new technology? That hasn't been clarified yet. In the meantime, I'm doing the following. I discuss theses and chapters with the AI. I use it like a discussion partner, but one that says a lot of nonsense in addition to some useful things. Recently, I wanted to check who advocates a utilitarianism of rights, and I learned that I myself do, which is definitely wrong. So you have to differentiate. AI cannot understand the meaning of sentences in terms of content, but only perceives the probability with which sentence B follows sentence A. I also have literature summarized if it is on the fringes of the subject area and does not necessarily need to be read. This is risky because the bot is based on texts that are freely available on the internet and not on the main works in libraries. The latter cannot be uploaded as files, as this violates copyright laws. And I approach all questions by asking specific follow-up questions and observing the consistency of the answers and whether they match my level of knowledge. So results have to be evaluated and are the result of specific prompts. To develop these, you have to acquire a high level of expertise, which is not possible with AI. It's also important to remember that AI cites old publications because it cannot access newer ones. This is an obstacle to research. I don't trust quotes at all. I have already experienced that even in the research mode of the Plus version, it lies. A quote is given, I look in the text, and can't find it. The AI gives a line number, which makes it clear that it's not there. I confront it with this, and it simply admits that it was wrong. I never let the AI write anything for me.

Using Chat GPT effectively  – an example

Here (PDF, 452 kB) you will find an example of how to use Chat GPT and similar tools effectively.

(Applies to Bachelor, Master and Admission Theses)

• These are comparable to a journeyman piece at the craftsman's house, it is important to demonstrate that one masters the methods for creating a text.
• The text analysis (see „interne Textkritik” in “Orientierungshilfen beim Schreiben und Interpretieren“ on the Homepage) concerns a clear question. This question does not refer to an overview of the topic or an ingenious idea of your own. It presents a concrete problem (including the relevant literature) and also addresses external questions of truth or plausibility. (Rule of thumb: 2/3 reconstruction,  1/3 own evaluation).
• Especially important: lay a clear thread and do not fabricate self-contradictions.
• Especially for very good work, independence of thought is an additional requirement.
• For supervision and length, etc., see other documents.

Excellent and good term papers

• Der Nutzenbegriff in der Philosophie und Wirtschaft (DOC, 96 kB)
• Grenzen der Moral (DOC, 93 kB)
   

Satisfactory and poorer term papers

• Gesundheitsweisen (DOC, 109 kB)
• Individuelles Handeln in der Klimaethik (DOC, 71 kB)