The topic is the following argument:

"If I eat one potato chip, I won't get fat. And if I eat two, well, two is only one more than one. Two potato chips won't make me fat either. And neither will three. Where do you draw the line? You can't. Nobody knows how many potato chips it takes to make you fat. In fact, nobody can say exactly where to draw the line between fat and not fat in the first place! So I think I'll have another bowl of potato chips."

Your task is to write a short polished essay (2 pages or so) critically analyzing this argument. The readings for Part 2 of this class directly address arguments like this one.

Please do not attempt to write ANYTHING on this topic until you have done the assigned readings for Part 2 and reviewed the guidelines for written work in the Syllabus (especially the sections "Criteria for Grading Written Assignments" and "Predict Your Essay Grade"). Your answer must reflect familiarity with the assigned readings, particularly the notions of terms, definitions, open and closed concepts, and the continuum fallacy.

Don't forget to look at the sample graded essays.

If you have done the reading and still don't have any idea how to respond to this claim, make an appointment with any Philosophy tutor. Make the appointment NOW, because it may take a few days to set things up. The phone number for Tutorial Services at West Valley College is 408/741-2038.

Grades and comments for essay assignments will be available no later than one week after the due date. To check your grade, look in "My Grades." If you have submitted your file correctly, I will return it to you in a browser-readable format, graded, with hypertext comments. Please read the comments carefully!