Finding Philosophical Literature
BQ resolutions almost always map onto decades or centuries of professional philosophical debate, so you must learn to find and read primary and secondary philosophy sources. You will be able to locate a philosophy paper relevant to your resolution and summarize its core argument.
Where to Look
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP) and Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP) are peer-reviewed, free, and organized by topic, making them the best starting point for any resolution — search directly for your resolution's key concept, like 'free will' or 'moral realism.' From there, follow footnotes to the original papers by philosophers named in the encyclopedia entry.
Reading a Philosophy Paper Efficiently
Read the abstract and introduction first to find the paper's central thesis, then skip to the conclusion to see what the author actually claims to have shown, before deciding whether the middle sections are worth close reading. Philosophy papers are structured around defending a thesis against objections, so look specifically for the 'objections and replies' section, since that is where your future rebuttals and cross-examination questions will come from.
Resolution concerns free will; a debater searches the SEP entry on 'Compatibilism.'
The SEP entry names Harry Frankfurt's 1969 paper on alternate possibilities as a key text. The debater finds the paper, reads the abstract to learn Frankfurt argues moral responsibility does not require the ability to do otherwise, then reads the objections section to find that critics raise the 'Frankfurt cases' as controversial, giving the debater both a card to read and a pre-built objection to anticipate.
1. What is a strong first stop for researching a philosophical concept in a BQ resolution?
2. Which section of a philosophy paper is most useful for finding future rebuttal material?
Answer all 2 to check.
Use SEP/IEP to find the landscape of a debate, then follow footnotes into primary sources, reading abstracts and objections sections first.