At first glance it may seem that the list of topics for an essay on philosophy is an extensive list, but this is not quite so. First, a number of topics that were relevant for the past centuries may not be of scientific value for modern philosophy (for example, the popular debate about universals in the Middle Ages or questions originated in the philosophy of naturalists of ancient Greece).
However, from a historical and philosophical point of view, and only in a historical and philosophical context, these topics may be relevant to an essay on philosophy. Secondly, the theme for a philosophical essay should imply an independent thought of the author, his own reflection. That is, if the theme of the work is “the concept of“ things in themselves ”in the philosophy of I. Kant”, this should not be just a retelling of the definition of I. Kant, first of all the author should express her own position. Consequently, the topic should be formulated somewhat differently, for example, like this: “The value of I. Kant’s transcendental philosophy in the development of the theory of knowledge” or “The role of the concept“ things in themselves ”for modern gnoseology”, etc. For the very formulation of the topic can complicate the task of expressing independent thinking, the student may find it difficult for him to express original thoughts on this topic, because no less responsibility lies with the teacher himself, who formulates the name of the topic for a philosophical essay.
Also note that the essay can be of two types:
reflection essay;
essay review.
In contrast to topics for essay thinking, topics for essay reviews may be more diverse. So, the subject for review can be any work of a philosopher. However, this will require the student to demonstrate critical and independent thinking, he must try to find both positive and negative aspects in the work of the philosopher.
It should be borne in mind that the main goal of a philosophical essay is the experience of independent student reflection, and the standard amount of work varies from 1 to 5 pages of printed text. This in turn means that the topic of the essay cannot be a complex and poorly studied topic, which will require too much explanatory text from the student.
There is another important point, which is not always taken into account by teachers. Some teachers include their personal work in the list of topics for the essay. In this case, they do not take into account the fact that it has a psychological negative impact on the student. In an essay-review, a student may be afraid to express his own position about the work of his teacher, for fear that criticism of his scientific work will affect the assessment.
The next factor that can have a negative psychological impact on the student is the forced choice of topics, without giving the opportunity to choose the topic on their own. The situation can also have a depressing psychological effect when the subject matter for the essay coincides with the specialization of the teacher; in this case, the teacher cannot be objective to the students and makes extremely high demands.
Considering all the above factors, the following conclusion can be drawn: themes for a philosophical essay should be selected taking into account certain goals and objectives that should be implemented in the process of writing a philosophical essay, it is also important to ensure freedom of choice of topics and avoid the above described situations of psychological pressure on students.
