Hey Billy, It sounds like you're off to a great start! I thought you did a good job of explaining Aristotle philosophy and the impact that it had on medieval Europe. There was also an effective transition to Francis Bacon's ideas. I'm still not quite sure I fully understand his idea of 'idols' or how important it is to your discussion of ethnography. If the tie in is important, maybe you could give more specific examples? Anyway, I look forward to reading the rest of your paper!
I think I have a much clearer understanding of Aristotle's arguments and how they relate to both Francis Bacon's later writings and European travel writing.
Your paper seems to get at the very theory of travel writing itself, and I'm interested to read more. However, because of this, I'm not sure how relevant it is to include so much biographical information on Bacon and Aristotle.
Hey Billy, I think you're right that you'll want to cut some stuff out of this for the actual paper, but I think it's pretty easy to choose which part to cut out: the biographical information on Aristotle. Your discussion of his methods of deduction and logic and how they led to medieval European worldviews is definitely pertinent (though you might want to briefly mention how this logic moved from ancient Greece to medieval Europe - through the church), but you can start just with that - no background on Aristotle necessary.
I think you've done a good job with your research so far. I liked the background information on Aristotle and you did a good job of showing its effects on European thought. I have to agree with Helen in saying that I think that some of the biographical information isn't needed (i.e. Bacon being a sickly child, etc.). I also want to suggest including a few more examples, if possible. For instance, when you state that medieval Europeans had a narrow viewpoint, you should give an example (maybe for Hodgen or something similar) and likewise, you should show how travel writing was not immune from fallacious reasoning.
I agree with others that your research seems great! I liked the aristotle piece, but I thought the juxtaposition from background on Aristotle to background on Sir Francis bacon was off. It just seemed like a lot of research with not enough argument. I think just by adding in a few other sentences here and there you probably could fix this. Overall good!
Hey Billy,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you're off to a great start! I thought you did a good job of explaining Aristotle philosophy and the impact that it had on medieval Europe. There was also an effective transition to Francis Bacon's ideas. I'm still not quite sure I fully understand his idea of 'idols' or how important it is to your discussion of ethnography. If the tie in is important, maybe you could give more specific examples? Anyway, I look forward to reading the rest of your paper!
Hi Billy,
ReplyDeleteI think I have a much clearer understanding of Aristotle's arguments and how they relate to both Francis Bacon's later writings and European travel writing.
Your paper seems to get at the very theory of travel writing itself, and I'm interested to read more. However, because of this, I'm not sure how relevant it is to include so much biographical information on Bacon and Aristotle.
Hey Billy,
ReplyDeleteI think you're right that you'll want to cut some stuff out of this for the actual paper, but I think it's pretty easy to choose which part to cut out: the biographical information on Aristotle. Your discussion of his methods of deduction and logic and how they led to medieval European worldviews is definitely pertinent (though you might want to briefly mention how this logic moved from ancient Greece to medieval Europe - through the church), but you can start just with that - no background on Aristotle necessary.
I think you've done a good job with your research so far. I liked the background information on Aristotle and you did a good job of showing its effects on European thought. I have to agree with Helen in saying that I think that some of the biographical information isn't needed (i.e. Bacon being a sickly child, etc.). I also want to suggest including a few more examples, if possible. For instance, when you state that medieval Europeans had a narrow viewpoint, you should give an example (maybe for Hodgen or something similar) and likewise, you should show how travel writing was not immune from fallacious reasoning.
ReplyDeleteI agree with others that your research seems great! I liked the aristotle piece, but I thought the juxtaposition from background on Aristotle to background on Sir Francis bacon was off. It just seemed like a lot of research with not enough argument. I think just by adding in a few other sentences here and there you probably could fix this. Overall good!
ReplyDeleteMackenzie Tudor