Philosophy: The Big Questions(Philosophy: The Big Questions)

Philosophy: The Big Questions occupies a unique position among introductory texts in philosophy. Designed for a single-semester introductory course in philosophy, it includes both classic readings in philosophy and newer articles. Presents, in one volume, canonical and contemporary works in ethics, metaphysics, philosophy of religion, and epistemology. Topics discussed include knowledge, religion, freedom, morality, and the meaning of life. Serves as a comprehensive and compelling introduction to philosophy. Together with traditional readings it also presents non-traditional, feminist eadings from a continental perspectives.

Table of Contents:
Preface ix Acknowledgments xi PART ONE WHAT CAN WE KNOW? 1 Introduction 3 1 From Meditations on First Philosophy 6 RENÉ DESCARTES 2 From An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding 34 DAVID HUME 3 Cartesian Skepticism and Inference to the Best Explanation 64 JONATHAN VOGEL 4 From Science as Social Knowledge 71 HELEN LONGINO 5 The ‘Maleness’ of Reason 78 GENEVIEVE LLOYD 6 The Ethics of Belief 83 WILLIAM CLIFFORD 7 It is Wrong, Everywhere, Always, and for Anyone, to Believe Anything upon Insufficient Evidence 87 PETER VAN INWAGEN Epistemology: Suggestions for Further Reading 99 PART TWO WHAT CAN WE KNOW ABOUT THE NATURE AND EXISTENCE OF GOD? 101 Introduction 103 8 From Proslogium 106 ST. ANSELM 9 In Behalf of the Fool: An Answer to the Argument of Anselm in the Proslogium 107 GAUNILO 10 The Ontological Argument 111 WILLIAM L. ROWE 11 The Cosmological Argument 123 WILLIAM L. ROWE 12 From Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion 133 DAVID HUME 13 The Argument from Design 141 R. G. SWINBURNE 14 The Wager 151 BLAISE PASCAL 15 The Recombinant DNA Debate: A Difficulty for Pascalian-Style Wagering 154 STEPHEN P. STICH 16 A Central Theistic Argument 155 GEORGE SCHLESINGER 17 Evil and Omnipotence 167 J. L. MACKIE 18 The Problem of Evil 176 ELEONORE STUMP 19 Male-Chauvinist Religion 190 DEBORAH MATHIEU 20 Divine Racism: A Philosophical and Theological Analysis 201 WILLIAM R. JONES Religion: Suggestions for Further Reading 212 PART THREE ARE WE EVER FREE? 213 Introduction 215 21 From The System of Nature 218 PAUL HOLBACH 22 Freedom and Necessity 225 A. J. AYER 23 Human Freedom and the Self 231 RODERICK M. CHISHOLM 24 Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility 239 HARRY G. FRANKFURT 25 How to Complete the Compatibilist Account of Free Action 246 JAMES P. STERBA AND JANET A. KOURANY 26 Living without Free Will: The Case for Hard Incompatibilism 257 DERK PEREBOOM 27 Metaethics, Metaphilosophy, and Free Will Subjectivism 267 RICHARD DOUBLE Freedom and Determinism: Suggestions for Further Reading 276 PART FOUR DOES OUR EXISTENCE HAVE A MEANING OR PURPOSE? 277 Introduction 279 28 From My Confession 281 LEO TOLSTOY 29 The Absurdity of Life without God 288 WILLIAM LANE CRAIG 30 On the Vanity of Existence 302 ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER 31 An Absurd Reasoning 305 ALBERT CAMUS 32 Existentialism Is a Humanism 313 JEAN-PAUL SARTRE 33 The Absurd 322 THOMAS NAGEL 34 What Makes Life Worth Living? 330 OWEN FLANAGAN 35 The Meaning of Life 337 JOHN KEKES 36 Tolstoi and the Meaning of Life 353 ANTHONY FLEW The Meaning of Life: Suggestions for Further Reading 361 PART FIVE HOW SHOULD WE LIVE? 363 Introduction 365 37 Morality as Good in Itself 367 PLATO 38 The Problem of Rationality: Is Morality Rationally Required? 374 JAMES P. STERBA 39 From Utilitarianism 383 JOHN STUART MILL 40 Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals 399 IMMANUEL KANT 41 From Two Treatises of Government 414 JOHN LOCKE 42 From A Theory of Justice 421 JOHN RAWLS 43 Distributive Justice 445 ROBERT NOZICK 44 Gender Inequality and Cultural Difference 455 SUSAN MOLLER OKIN 45 Race/Gender and the Ethics of Difference 470 JANE FLAX 46 A Response to Jane Flax 478 SUSAN MOLLER OKIN 47 Equality, Discrimination and Preferential Treatment 482 BERNARD R. BOXILL 48 All Animals Are Equal . . . 490 PETER SINGER 49 The Ethics of Respect for Nature 505 PAUL W. TAYLOR Ethics: Suggestions for Further Reading 519 Index 520

About the Author :
Ruth J. Sample is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of New Hampshire. She teaches social and political philosophy, early modern philosophy, and feminist philosophy, and is the author of Exploitation: What It Is and Why It’s Wrong (2003). Charles W. Mills is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He works in the area of oppositional political theory and is the author of three books: The Racial Contract (1997), Blackness Visible: Essays on Philosophy and Race (1998), and From Class to Race: Essays in White Marxism and Black Radicalism (2003). James P. Sterba is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, where he teaches ethics and political philosophy. His publications include How to Make People Just (1988), Feminist Philosophies (2nd edn., 1995), Justice for Here and Now (1998), Earth Ethics (2nd edn., 2000), Three Challenges to Ethics (2001),and Morality in Practice (7th edn., 2003).

Review :
"This is an extraordinary rich and refreshing collection of essays that brings together some of the most illuminating and provocative essays to be found in philosophy. This volume reveals the majesty of philosophy while, at the same time, showcasing the diversity and creativity that has made philosophy so appealing to the very best minds. I expect this reader to become a classic text." Laurence Thomas, Syracuse University "This marvelous collection of readings from the Western tradition draws judiciously both from classic texts and contemporary authors. Reminding us of the basic importance for all human life of the central questions of philosophy, it orms an excellent introduction to the subject." Roger Trigg, University of Warwick