Philosophical Dilemmas

A Pro and Con Introduction to the Major Questions and Philosophers

Fourth Edition

Phil Washburn

Each chapter combines a pro and con discussion of a problem with a discussion of two historical figures relevant to the problem. Students learn about great philosophers, and learn how to think about tough questions.
The HISTORICAL ESSAYS explain the philosophers' main ideas and briefly present the larger contexts and influences on the philosophers. Specific historical events, biographical details, plain language, and brevity make the essays attractive to beginners.
The TOPICAL ESSAYS, in contemporary voices, present opposing points of view on traditional questions. TV talk shows understand that conflicting points of view are inherently dramatic, interesting, and thought-provoking.
Discusses and demonstrates critical thinking methods and techniques, encouraging students to think philosophically and critically.
Helps students formulate their own worldviews; the essays are written in the style of contemporary, committed advocates, not textbook summaries. They use ordinary language and concrete, real-world examples to make their points. Students can grasp the issue and the arguments. And they understand that they are being asked to make reasoned judgments, not memorize various theories.
Includes essays on current controversies such as race, gender, and euthanasia.
Moves beyond traditional philosophical problems to include Eastern thought and philosophy.
PEDAGOGY: Highlights "key concepts" and "critical questions" at the end of each essay.
Features a chronology of historical parallels that links key philosophers to issues discussed in the book.
Features an annotated bibliography.
Includes a useful list of contemporary sources.
Features an appendix on how to write an essay.
Includes a glossary

Philosophical Dilemmas

A Pro and Con Introduction to the Major Questions and Philosophers

Fourth Edition

Phil Washburn

Description

Philosophical Dilemmas: A Pro and Con Introduction to the Major Questions and Philosophers, Fourth Edition, outlines the classic arguments made by philosophers through the ages. It features sixty-three brief topical essays by author Phil Washburn organized around thirty-one fundamental philosophical questions like "Does God exist?" "Is morality relative?" and "Are we free?" Each essay takes a definite stand and promotes it vigorously, creating a sharp contrast between the two positions and giving each abstract theory a more personal and believable "voice." The accessible writing style and conflicting answers encourage students to examine the different positions and to think carefully about which essay makes the stronger case.

This fourth edition, a major revision, now enriches the discussion of each philosophical question by adding fifty-four brief essays—two in each chapter—on great philosophers who held conflicting viewpoints on the issues covered. Additionally, the chapters have been rearranged so that these essays and the philosophers discussed appear in approximate chronological order, from Plato and Protagoras to Wittgenstein and Searle. The text is enhanced by numerous pedagogical features including an introduction to each issue, key terms, chapter summaries, study questions after each essay, chronologies, a glossary, and an appendix on how to write an essay.

A Companion Website at www.oup.com/us/washburn contains online sources and self-test questions for students and numerous instructor resources: introductions to the issues; summaries of the topical essays; summary points, PowerPoint-based slides, and test questions for the historical essays; answers to the critical questions that follow each essay; test questions on the topical essays; suggestions for class discussions; and a list of online resources.

Philosophical Dilemmas

A Pro and Con Introduction to the Major Questions and Philosophers

Fourth Edition

Phil Washburn

"Critical Questions" follow each essay, and an "Understanding the Dilemma" section ends each chapter.
Introduction
1. Philosophy and Socrates
1. HAPPINESS, OBLIGATIONS, AND VALUES
1.1 Is Morality Relative?
2. Protagoras and the Sophists
3. Plato
, Yes: Relativist. "Moral Relativism"
, No: Absolutist. "Right for You, Wrong for Me?"
1.2 Can We Understand Happiness?
4. Aristotle
5. The Hellenistic Age and Skepticism
, Yes: Definer. "Happiness"
, No: Critic. "The Elusive Dream"
1.3 Is Pleasure the Only Value?
6. Epicurus
7. Marcus Aurelius
, Yes: Hedonist. "Hedonism"
, No: Pluralist. "A World of Values"
1.4 Is Society the Source of Values?
8. Confucius
9. Christianity
, Yes: Functionalist. "An Objective Basis for Morality"
, No: Moral Theist. "The Current Crisis and Its Solution"
1.5 Is Happiness the Standard of Morality?
10. Kant and the Age of Reason
11. Mill and Happiness
, Yes: Utilitarian. "Utilitarianism"
, No: Formalist. "The Principle of Morality"
1.6 Are We Always Selfish?
12. Hume and the Moral Sense
13. Nietzsche
, Yes: Psychological Egoist. "No Free Lunch"
, No: Psychological Altruist. "Is Love Selfish?"
1.7 Current Controversy: Should Doctors Ever End People's Lives?
, No: Protector. "Having Reasons for Moral Decisions"
, Yes: Euthanizer. "The Complex Issue of Euthanasia"
2. GOD, IMMORTALITY, AND FAITH
2.1 Is the Soul Immortal?
14. Plato and the Immortal Soul
15. Lucretius
, No: Mortalist. "Immortality"
, Yes: Survivor. "For and Against an Afterlife"
2.2 Is Faith An Answer?
16. Augustine
17. Abelard
, Yes: Believer. "Accepting Limits"
, No: Questioner. Faith and Its Consequences"
2.3 Is It Necessary that God Exists?
18. Anselm
19. Ockham
, Yes: Logical Theist. "Possible and Impossible"
, No: Scientist. "It Ain't Necessarily So"
2.4 Is There Evidence that God Exists?
20. Ockham
21. Machiavelli
22. Galileo
, Yes: Causal Theist. "In the Beginning"
, Yes: Design Theist. "Design or Chance?"
, No: Atheist. "The Retreat of the Gods"
2.5 Can God Allow Innocent Suffering?
23. Leibniz
24. Voltaire
, No: Contradictor. "There Is No God"
, Yes: Reconciler. "Character and Contentment"
2.6 Current Controversy: Is Buddhism Philosophy?
, Yes: Buddhist. "The Philosophy of Buddhism"
, No: Specialist. "The Difference Between Religion and Philosophy"
3. KNOWLEDGE, SCIENCE, AND TRUTH
3.1 Is Certainty the Standard of Knowledge?
25. Bacon
26. Descartes and Certainty
, Yes: Foundationalist. "Certainty"
, No: Pragmatist. "The Test of Knowledge"
3.2 Is Experience the Source of All Knowledge?
27. Locke and Experience
28. Spinoza
, Yes: Empiricist. "The Source of Knowledge"
, No: Rationalist. "The Strange Case of the Mathematician"
3.3 Can We Know About the External World?
29. Berkeley
30. Reid
, No: Internalist. "Knowledge of the External World"
, Yes: Perceiver. "The Limits of Ignorance"
3.4 Is It Possible that We Know Nothing At All?
31. Hume and Skepticism
32. Kant's Copernican Revolution
, No: Predictor. "Such Stuff as Dreams Are Made Of"
, Yes: Skeptic. "Past and Future"
3.5 Does Science Give Us Real Knowledge?
33. Comte
34. Schopenhauer
, Yes: Positivist. "Science as Knowledge"
, No: Romantic. "What Kind of Understanding?"
3.6 Current Controversy: Does Truth Exist?
, Yes: Representationalist. "True Belief and False Beliefs"
, No: Postmodernist. "Ten Theses on Language"
4. LIBERTY, EQUALITY, JUSTICE
4.1 Is Equality the Highest Social Value?
35. More
36. Burke
, Yes: Egalitarian. "Society and Property"
, No: Elitist. "What Elitists Believe"
4.2 Is Society Based On A Contract?
37. Locke and the Social Contract
38. Hegel
, Yes: Contractor. "The Social Contract"
, No: Organicist. "The Social Organism"
4.3 Is Liberty the Highest Social Value?
39. Rousseau
40. Mill and Liberty
, Yes: Libertarian. "Liberty, the Supreme Social Value"
, No: Paternalist. "Empty Phrases"
4.4 Is Capitalism Just?
41. Marx
42. Spencer
, Yes: Capitalist. "Capitalism, Democracy, and Justice"
, No: Socialist. "Capitalist Society"
4.5 Do Individuals Have Absolute Human Rights?
43. Rawls
44. Singer
, Yes: Rights Defender. "The Foundation of Human Rights"
, No: Rights Skeptic. "A Confused Idea"
4.6. Current Controversy: Is Race Essential To Identity?
, Yes: Essentialist. "The Meaning of Being Black"
, No: Nonessentialist. "Race and Identity"
5. FREE WILL, MIND, AND HUMAN NATURE
5.1 Is the Mind Nothing But the Brain?
45. Descartes and Dualism
46. Hobbes
, Yes: Materialist. "Body and Soul"
, No: Dualist. "The Inner Life"
5.2 Are We Free?
47. Holbach
48. Kierkegaard
, No: Hard Determinist. "One World, Not Two"
, Yes: Metaphysical Libertarian. "Free Will and Common Sense"
5.3 Are Scientific Laws Compatible With Free Will?
49. Hume and Free Will
50. James
, Yes: Soft Determinist. "Verbal Disputes, Facts, and Free Will"
, No: Incompatibilist. Caused Actions Are Not Free"
5.4 Are We Responsible For Our Actions?
51. Freud
52. Sartre
, No: Excuser. "Rejecting Responsibility"
, Yes: Judge. "No Excuse"
5.5 Can Computers Think?
54. Searlenstein
, Yes: Mechanist. "Can Computers Think?"
No: Mentalist. "People vs. Machines"
5.6 Current Controversy: Are the Differences Between Men and Women Philosophically Significant?
, No: Unifier. "Men, Women, and People"
, Yes: Complementer. "Who's Afraid of Difference?"
Appendix: How to Write an Essay
, Glossary of Contrasting Positions
, Index

Philosophical Dilemmas

A Pro and Con Introduction to the Major Questions and Philosophers

Fourth Edition

Phil Washburn

Author Information

Phil Washburn, Master Teacher in the Liberal Studies Program, New York University

Phil Washburn is Master Teacher in the Liberal Studies Program at New York University. He is the author of The Vocabulary of Critical Thinking (2009) and the editor of The Many Faces of Wisdom (2003).

Philosophical Dilemmas

A Pro and Con Introduction to the Major Questions and Philosophers

Fourth Edition

Phil Washburn

Reviews and Awards

"Washburn's style is clear, concise, engaging, and fair. He is able to defend both pro and con positions so well that you cannot judge a bias or personal preference. This is commendable, since both sides are argued passionately and accurately. I have found no comparable or superior text." - William Rodriguez, Bethune Cookman University