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Cover

Exploring Philosophy

An Introductory Anthology

Seventh Edition

Steven M. Cahn

Publication Date - October 2020

ISBN: 9780190089580

704 pages
Paperback
6 1/2 x 9 1/4 inches

In Stock

The most accessible, economical, and carefully edited set of classic and contemporary readings in introduction to philosophy, with the largest selection of readings by women

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.

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

Features

  • 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

About the Author(s)

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).

Reviews

"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

Table of Contents

    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

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