Open Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy - Brossura

Barcalow, Emmett

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0195155009 ISBN 13: 9780195155006

Casa editrice: OUP USA, 2000

Riassunto

This engaging introduction to the fundamental issues of philosophy will prompt students to think actively about questions such as: Does God exist? Do we have souls? Does human life have meaning? Is there a real difference between right and wrong? and many more. Organized topically, the twelve chapters in the book focus on key philosophical questions and discuss alternative answers (solutions). Author Emmett Barcalow includes readings in every chapter by famous thinkers and well-known philosophers who offer their own answers to these questions--for example, the thoughts of Charles Darwin, Benjamin Franklin, and Mohandas K. Ghandi on the existence of God; Plato's ideas on the body/mind connection; and John Stuart Mill and Immanuel Kant's theories of right and wrong. As students progress through the text, they'll begin to think critically and decide for themselves which answers seem the most reasonable to them. Definitions and other relevant information are placed in the margins for easy reference, and brain teasers--questions for class discussion and student reflection-- are integrated throughout. The text also features insightful discussion and review questions at the end of each chapter and two valuable appendices: one on reading philosophy and the other on writing a philosophy paper.
The third edition adds chapter objectives; information on philosophy's subfields; a section on self-knowledge; new material on reflective equilibrium; expanded coverage of the social justification of morality; a new discussion of equal opportunity; a discussion of Feinberg's analysis of four liberty limiting principles; and more. It also adds readings by Rahula, Sartre, Russell, St. Augustine, Constant, Rousseau, and many others.

Su questo libro

Contenuti

• Preface
• 1. Philosophy
• Subfields of Philosophy
• Open and Closed Questions
• What It's Most Reasonable to Believe
• Evaluating Arguments
• Facts and Theories
• Two Principal Philosophical Questions
• 2. God and Philosophy
• The Concept of God
• Arguments for God's Existence
• An Argument Against God's Existence: The Argument from Evil
• Faith
• Experiencing God's Presence
• Religious Belief: Charles Darwin
• Franklin's Religious Principles from His Autobiography: Benjamin Franklin
• Gandhi's Political Principles: Mohandas K. Gandhi
• 3. Body and Mind
• Life
• Soul as the Explanation of Life
• Physical Explanations of Life
• Mind as the Explanation of Consciousness
• Minds
• Descartes' Argument for Dualism
• Problems for Descartes
• Physicalism
• Identity Theories
• Conclusions
• Phaedo: Plato
• 4. Personal Immortality and Personal Identity
• Death and Other Happenings
• What Role Do Our Bodies Play in Personal Identity?
• Same Psychological Essence
• How the Self Depends on the Body
• Identifying and Reidentifying People
• Dualism, Personal Identity, and Existence After Death
• The Doctrine of No-Soul: Anatta: Walpola Rahula
• 5. Freedom and Determinism
• Causality and Personal Identity
• Causality and Determinism
• Determinism
• Determinism and Human Freedom
• Soft Determinism/Compatibilism
• Reasons and Causes
• Probalistic Causality?
• What Difference Does It Make Whether We Are Free?
• Fatalism
• Borderline Cases
• An Essay Concerning Human Understanding: John Locke
• The Delusion of Free Will: Robert Blatchford
• Existentialism: Jean Paul Sartre
• 6. Knowledge, Truth, and Justification
• It's Only a Belief
• Belief and Truth
• Three Requirements for Knowledge
• Justification
• Reasons
• Self-Knowledge: Beliefs About Our Own Mental States
• Alternatives to Perception
• Basic Justifiers
• On the Value of Scepticism: Bertrand Russell
• 7. Knowledge and Skepticism
• Evaluating the Skeptic's Argument
• A Strong and Weak Sense of Know
• Perception, Observation, and Induction
• Observation and Causal Generalizations
• The Virtue of Skepticism
• Meditations on the First Philosophy: René Descartes
• An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding: David Hume
• 8. Morality
• Moral Objectivism
• Moral Nonobjectivism
• The Divine Command Theory of Morality
• Nonobjectivist Moral Theories
• Moral Egoism
• The Confessions: Saint Augustine
• Laws Concerning Character Traits: Moses Maimonides
• The Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha: Buddha
• The Virtue of Compassion: His Holiness the Dalai Lama
• Republic: Plato
• 9. Moral Justification
• Moral Justification
• Evaluating Nonmoral Reasons (Premises)
• Evaluating Moral Principles
• Reflective Equilibrium
• Moral Belief and Action
• Why Be Moral? The Challenge of Amoralism
• The Object of Morality: G. J. Warnock
• 10. Two Theories of Right and Wrong
• Consequentialism
• Utilitarianism
• Kantian Moral Theory
• Utilitarianism: John Stuart Mill
• Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals: Immanuel Kant
• 11. Justice and Rights
• Aristotle's Conception of Justice: Treating Equals Equally
• Justice and Relevant Differences
• Leviathan: Thomas Hobbes
• Manifesto of the Communist Party: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
• Justice, Gender, and the Family: Susan Moller Okin
• 12. Liberty and Democracy
• Liberty
• Is Democracy the Best Form of Government?
• The Kind of Liberty Offered to Men at the End of the Last Century: Benjamin Constant
• The Social Contract: Jean Jacques Rousseau
• Appendices
• A: Reading Philosophy
• B: Writing a Philosophy Paper
• Glossary/Index
• Each chapter begins with Objectives and an Introduction and ends with Questions for Discussion and Review and Suggestions for Further Reading

Product Description

Book by Barcalow Emmett

Dettagli dell'edizione

• Editore: OUP USA
• Data di pubblicazione: 2000
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 0195155009
• ISBN 13: 9780195155006
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero edizione: 3
• Numero di pagine: 496
• Contatto del produttore: non disponibile
• Persona responsabile: Penguin Random House Ireland Limited; productsafety@penguin.co.uk; ; Morrison Chambers, 32 Nassau Street; Dublin; Irlanda