Exploring Philosophy

An Introductory Anthology

Seventh Edition

Steven M. Cahn

A wide range of contemporary and classic readings, chosen for their quality and clarity and edited for maximum accessibility, provides instructors with flexibility
Influential "Historical Sources" accompany the rich collection of contemporary readings in each part
Concise introductions, explanatory notes, study questions, and suggestions for further reading enhance each reading
Unparalleled representation of women philosophers gives students a broader and more balanced view of the field of philosophy and its contributors

New to this Edition:

New essays on antiscientism, the concept of knowledge, free will, reparation, sexual harassment, divestiture, and the afterlife
The complete text of Plato's Meno
A revision of the essay on the elements of argument

Exploring Philosophy

An Introductory Anthology

Seventh Edition

Steven M. Cahn

Description

In Exploring Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology, Steven M. Cahn brings together exceptionally clear recent essays by noted philosophers and supplements them with influential historical sources. The articles have been carefully edited to make them understandable to every reader. The readings are enhanced by concise introductions, study questions, and explanatory notes. Reflecting the major role of women in philosophy today, 1/3 of the contemporary essays are authored by women.

Exploring Philosophy

An Introductory Anthology

Seventh Edition

Steven M. Cahn

Preface

PART 1. INTRODUCTION
What Is Philosophy?, Monroe C. Beardsley and Elizabeth Lane Beardsley
The Value of Philosophy, Bertrand Russell
HISTORICAL SOURCE
Defence of Socrates, Plato

PART 2. REASONING
The Elements of Argument, Steven M. Cahn, Patricia Kitcher, and George Sher
Improving Your Thinking, Stephen F. Barker
Necessary and Sufficient Conditions, Steven M. Cahn
Scientific Inquiry, Carl G. Hempel
Antiscientism, Gillian Barker and Philip Kitcher

PART 3. KNOWLEDGE
Caring and Epistemic Demands, Linda Zagzebski
Knowing vs. Thinking, Jennifer Nagel
Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?, Edmund L. Gettier
Conditions for Knowledge, Robert Nozick
Appearance and Reality, Bertrand Russell
What Can I Know?, D. Z. Phillips
The Problem of Induction, Bertrand Russell
Induction Without a Problem, P. F. Strawson
Puzzling Out Knowledge, Susan Haack
HISTORICAL SOURCES
Meno, Plato
Meditations on First Philosophy, René Descartes
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, John Locke
A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge, George Berkeley
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, David Hume
Critique of Pure Reason, Immanuel Kant

PART 4. MIND
The Ghost in the Machine, Gilbert Ryle
Body and Soul, Richard Taylor
The Mind-Body Problem, Paul M. Churchland
What Is It Like to Be a Bat?, Thomas Nagel
The Qualia Problem, Frank Jackson
Knowing What It's Like, David Lewis
Computing Machinery and Intelligence, Alan Turing
Do Computers Think?, John Searle
The Body Problem, Barbara Montero
HISTORICAL SOURCE
Meditations on First Philosophy, René Descartes

PART 5. FREE WILL
Free Will, Thomas Nagel
Free Will and Determinism, W. T. Stace
Freedom or Determinism?, Steven M. Cahn
The Principle of Alternative Possibilities, Harry Frankfurt
The Capacities of Agents, Neil Levy
Do We Have Free Will?, Patricia Churchland
HISTORICAL SOURCES
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, David Hume
The Dilemma of Determinism, William James

PART 6. IDENTITY
A Case of Identity, Brian Smart
The Problem of Personal Identity, John Perry
The Unimportance of Identity, Derek Parfit
HISTORICAL SOURCES
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, John Locke
A Treatise of Human Nature, David Hume
Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man, Thomas Reid

PART 7. GOD
Does God Exist?, Ernest Nagel
Why God Allows Evil, Richard Swinburne
Pascal's Wager, Simon Blackburn
Pascal's Wager: An Assessment, Linda Zagzebski
Faith and Reason, Michael Scriven
God and Morality, Steven M. Cahn
HISTORICAL SOURCES
The Ontological Argument, Anselm and Gaunilo
Summa Theologiae, Thomas Aquinas
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, David Hume
The Wager, Blaise Pascal
Natural Theology, William Paley
The Will to Believe, William James

PART 8. MORAL THEORY
Moral Isolationism, Mary Midgley
Kant's Ethics, Onora O'Neill
Assessing Utilitarianism, Louis P. Pojman
Virtue Ethics, Julia Driver
The Ethics of Care, Virginia Held
Egoism and Moral Skepticism, James Rachels
HISTORICAL SOURCES
Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle
Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, Immanuel Kant
Utilitarianism, John Stuart Mill

PART 9. MORAL PROBLEMS
A Defense of Abortion, Judith Jarvis Thomson
Why Abortion Is Immoral, Don Marquis
Famine, Affluence, and Morality, Peter Singer
A Reply to Singer, Travis Timmerman
The Morality of Reparation, Bernard R. Boxill
Reparation and the Problem of Agency, Chandran Kukathas
Sexual Harassment in the University, N. Ann Davis
Sexual Harassment in Public Places, Margaret Crouch
The Trolley Problem, Judith Jarvis Thomson
Turning the Trolley, Judith Jarvis Thomson
The Divestiture Puzzle, Steven M. Cahn

PART 10. SOCIETY
Democracy, John Dewey
What Is a Liberal Education?, Sidney Hook
Cultivating Humanity, Martha Nussbaum
Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King, Jr.
HISTORICAL SOURCES
Crito, Plato
On Liberty, John Stuart Mill
Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, Karl Marx

PART 11. SOCIAL JUSTICE
A Theory of Justice, John Rawls
Distributive Justice, Robert Nozick
Non-contractual Society: A Feminist View, Virginia Held
HISTORICAL SOURCES
The Republic, Plato
Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes

PART 12. ART
Aesthetic Concepts, Frank Sibley
Speaking in Parables, Sallie McFague
Fearing Fictions, Kendall Walton
HISTORICAL SOURCES
The Republic, Plato
Poetics, Aristotle

PART 13. THE MEANING OF LIFE
The Meaning of Life, Richard Taylor
Meaning in Life, Susan Wolf
Meaningful Lives, Christine Vitrano
The Afterlife, Samuel Scheffler
How the Afterlife Matters, Harry G. Frankfurt
The Significance of Doomsday, Susan Wolf
HISTORICAL SOURCES
Phaedo, Plato
Writings, Epicurus
The Handbook, Epictetus

14. ASIAN OUTLOOKS
The Buddha's Message, Christopher W. Gowans
The Confucian Way, Henry Rosemont, Jr.
The Tao, Ray Billington
Twelve Zen Stories

Index

Exploring Philosophy

An Introductory Anthology

Seventh Edition

Steven M. Cahn

Author Information

Steven M. Cahn is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at The City University of New York Graduate Center. He is the author or editor of more than sixty books. Most recently, he wrote Inside Academia: Professors, Politics, and Policies (2018) and Teaching Philosophy: A Guide (2018). Dr. Cahn is the editor of Exploring Ethics, Fifth Edition (OUP, 2019) and The World of Philosophy, Second Edition (OUP, 2018).

Exploring Philosophy

An Introductory Anthology

Seventh Edition

Steven M. Cahn

Reviews and Awards

"Exploring Philosophy has been my first choice for years. It is an excellent blend of historical and contemporary readings on the most important issues in philosophy. It also provides a balanced treatment of these controversial issues that allows students to assess them from various perspectives. Finally, it is far more affordable than its competitors."--Laurence Carlin, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

"This is an excellent anthology. It offers a wide-ranging selection of readings that are expertly edited and therefore accessible to beginning students. In addition, it is, to my knowledge, the most reasonably priced anthology of its kind."--Brad Rives, Indiana University of Pennsylvania