Introducing Philosophy: Questions and Readings
Instructor Review Copy

Introducing Philosophy: Questions and Readings

James Cunningham, Samuel Hillier
Out of Print

More than simply a collection of core readings in Philosophy, this text has been carefully designed to be a valuable teaching resource for introductory courses. Created with a first-time student in mind, it presents classic and contemporary readings in the form of thought-provoking questions, with six parts devoted to the key themes most commonly explored at the undergraduate level. These selections are augmented by applied readings that link the themes to aspects of modern life.

Along with the editors' accessible overviews that present key concepts and introduce leading figures, each part concludes with a series of brief exercises designed to help develop students' confidence in approaching Philosophy, and hone specific skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing) that are highly transferable to other areas of study. The text is supplemented by video links and brief online author podcasts that allow students the opportunity to engage with philosophy in a different manner than the typical text-only approach.

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ISBN
978-1-55239-518-9
Page Count
472
Publisher
Emond Publishing
Publication Date
July 2013
Status
Out of Print
Subjects
Liberal and Fine Arts
Tags
Higher Education Other

  • Reading selections cover the key themes, thinkers, and topics typically found in undergraduate philosophy courses
  • Designed to be suitable for both one- or two-semester courses
  • Overview essays introduce key philosophers, concepts, and debates
  • Brief introductory blurbs set the context for each reading
  • Applied readings appear at end of each part, helping to summarize each theme
  • Each part concludes with brief exercises (listening, speaking, reading, writing) designed to help build students' confidence and develop highly transferable skills
  • Presents introductory-level students with important tips and tools to help them approach the study of philosophy with confidence, and introduces the elements of philosophical argument and debate (such as premises, conclusions, basic argument types and structures, and fallacies)
  • Includes glossary, discussion questions, video links, and more

Brief Table of Contents

Part I: Introduction: Approaching Philosophy
Part II: Metaphysics

Part III: Epistemology

Part IV: Moral Philosophy
Part V: Social and Political Thought

Part VI: The Meaning of Life: God, Evil, Love, and Death


 

Detailed Table of Contents

Part I: Introduction

     Chapter 1: The Successful Philosophy Student
     Chapter 2: Understanding Arguments

Part II: Metaphysics
Editors' Introduction

     Chapter 3: What Is Reality?
          3.1 Bertrand Russell, The World of Universals
          3.2 Plato, The Good
     Chapter 4: How Can We Understand Matter and Mind?
          4.1 René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (Meditation VI)
          4.2 George Berkeley, The Principles of Human Knowledge
     Chapter 5: Do Humans Have Free Will?
          5.1 Paul Henri Thiery, Baron d'Holbach, The System of Nature
          5.2 William James, The Dilemma of Determinism
          5.3 Susan Wolf, Freedom Within Reason
Part 2 Skills
Philosophy in Context: Daniel Levitin, Music and the Mind Machine
Listening / Speaking / Reading / Writing

Part III: Epistemology
Editors' Introduction

     Chapter 6: Can We Know Anything at All About the External World?
          6.1 René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (Meditations I and II)
          6.2 David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
     Chapter 7: Where Does Knowledge Come From?
          7.1 John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
          7.2 Gottfried Leibniz, New Essays Concerning Human Understanding
          7.3 Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason
     Chapter 8: Does Gender Influence Knowledge?
          8.1 Elizabeth Anderson, Feminist Epistemology: An Interpretation and a Defense
          8.2 Louise Antony, Quine as Feminist: the Radical Import of Naturalized Epistemology
Part 3 Skills
Philosophy in Context: John Searle, Watson Doesn't Know It Won on "Jeopardy!"
Philosophy in Context: Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Occasions
Listening / Speaking / Reading / Writing

Part IV: Moral Philosophy
Editors' Introduction

     Chapter 9: What Is Virtue?
          9.1 Plato, Justice in the Soul
          9.2 Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics
     Chapter 10: What Is the Measure of Right and Wrong?
          10.1 Immanuel Kant, Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals (The Good Will)
          10.2 Jeremy Bentham, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation
          10.3 John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism
     Chapter 11: Can We Have Morality Without Traditional Foundations?
          11.1 Søren Kierkegaard, Problem One (Teleological Suspension of the Ethical)
          11.2 Friedrich Nietzsche, First Essay: Good and Evil, Good and Bad
          11.3 Jean-Paul Sartre, Existentialism Is a Humanism
          11.4 James Rachels, Created from Animals: The Moral Implications of Darwinism
          11.5 Daniel C. Dennett, Can Ethics Be Naturalized?
Part 4 Skills
Philosophy in Context: Interview with Dick Teresi: When Does Life End?
Alex Wellington, Should Feminists Embrace Vegetarianism?
Peter Singer, Famine, Affluence, and Morality
Listening / Speaking / Reading / Writing

Part V: Social and Political Thought
Editors' Introduction

     Chapter 12: What Is the Nature of the State and Society?
          12.1 Plato, Philosopher-Kings
          12.2 Aristotle, Politics
     Chapter 13: What Is Legitimate Government?
          13.1 Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan
          13.2 John Locke, Two Treatises of Government
     Chapter 14: What Is Justice? How Do We Build a Just Society?
          14.1 John Stuart Mill, On Liberty
          14.2 Rawls, A Theory of Justice
          14.3 Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia
          14.4 Alasdair MacIntyre, A Disquieting Suggestion
          14.5 Valerie Bryson, Feminist Political Theory
          14.6 G.A. Cohen, Why Not Socialism?
Part 5 Skills
Philosophy in Context: Martha Nussbaum, Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities
Listening / Speaking / Reading / Writing

Part VI: The Meaning of Life: God, Evil, Love, and Death
Editors' Introduction

     Chapter 15: Can God's Existence Be Proven?
          15.1 St. Anselm, Proslogion
          15.2 St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica (The Five Ways)
          15.3 Immanuel Kant, The Impossibility of an Ontological Proof of the Existence of God
          15.4 Bertrand Russell, Why I Am Not A Christian
     Chapter 16: What Is the Meaning of Evil and Suffering?
          16.1 St. Augustine, Confessions
          16.2 Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov
     Chapter 17: What Can Philosophy Teach Us About Love and Sex?
          17.1 Plato, The Symposium
          17.2 Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex
          17.3 Michel Foucault, We "Other Victorians"
     Chapter 18: How Should We Think About Death?
          18.1 Martin Heidegger, Being and Time
          18.2 Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus
          18.3 Thomas Nagel, Mortal Questions
Part 6 Skills
Philosophy in Context: Julian Friedland, Philosophy Is Not a Science
Philosophy in Context: Mark Kingwell, Seeking the Good Life
Listening / Speaking / Reading / Writing

Glossary
Index

icon Chapter 1: The Successful Philosophy Student

To view the audio and video content, click here.

The brief passage on p.479 at the end of reading 16.1, St. Augustine, is replaced by the following: http://emp.ca/links/philosophy/erratum.doc. This passage will be included when book is reprinted.

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