The Big Questions: A Short Introduction to Philosophy, International Edition - Tapa blanda

Preface. INTRODUCTION: DOING PHILOSOPHY. Beyond Buzzwords. Articulation and Argument: Two Crucial Features of Philosophy. Concepts and Conceptual Frameworks. A LITTLE LOGIC. Deduction. Induction. Criticizing Arguments. Closing Questions. Suggested Readings. 1. PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTIONS. Philosophical Questions. Opening Questions. Suggested Readings. 2. THE MEANING OF LIFE. Opening Questions. The Meaning of Meaning. The Meanings of Life. Closing Questions. Suggested Readings. 3. GOD. Opening Questions. Believing in God. Gods and Goddesses. The Traditional Western Conceptions of God. The Problem of Evil. Faith and Reason: Ways of Believing. Religious Tolerance: Ritual, Tradition, and Spirituality. Doubts. Closing Questions. Suggested Readings. 4. THE NATURE OF REALITY. Opening Questions. The Real World. What Is Most Real? The First Metaphysicians. Early Nonphysical Views of Reality. Plato's Forms. Aristotle's Metaphysics. Mind and Metaphysics. Idealism. Teleology. Metaphysics and the Everyday World. Closing Questions. Suggested Readings. 5. THE SEARCH FOR TRUTH. Opening Questions. What Is True? Two Kinds of Truth. Rationalism and Empiricism. The Presuppositions of Knowledge. Skepticism. Knowledge, Truth, and Science. The Nature of Truth. Rationality. Subjective Truth and the Problem of Relativism. Closing Questions. Suggested Readings. 6. SELF. Opening Questions. The Essential Self. The Self and Its Emotions. The Mind-Body Problem. The Self as a Choice. Closing Questions. Suggested Readings. 7. FREEDOM. Opening Questions. Freedom and the Good Life. Free Will and Determinism. Closing Questions. Suggested Readings. 8. MORALITY AND THE GOOD LIFE. Opening Questions. The Good Life. Egoism Versus Altruism. Morality and Theories of Morality. Duty-Defined Morality. Consequentialist Theories. Aristotle and the Ethics of Virtue. Morality--Relative or Absolute? Friedrich Nietzsche and the Attack on Morality. Closing Questions. Suggested Readings. 9. JUSTICE AND THE GOOD SOCIETY. Opening Questions. Morals and Society. The Nature of Society. Who Should Rule? The Question of Legitimacy. Anarchism, the Free Market, and the Need for Government. What Is Justice? The Meaning of Equality. The Origins of Justice and the Social Contract. Rights and the Self. Closing Questions. Suggested Readings. 10. PHILOSOPHY, SEX, RACE, AND CULTURE. Opening Questions. Expanding the Philosophical Canon. Beyond the Western Tradition. Other Cultures, Other Philosophies. Sexual Politics: The Rise of Feminist Philosophy. The Revival of African American Philosophy. Closing Questions. Suggested Readings. 11. BEAUTY. Opening Questions. Beauty and Truth. Enjoying Tragedy. Arguing About Taste. Art, Ethics, and Religion. The Aesthetics of Popular Culture and Everyday Life. Closing Questions. Suggested Readings. APPENDIX A. WRITING PHILOSOPHY. Opening Questions. The Rules of Good Writing in Philosophy. Indirect Styles. APPENDIX B. DEDUCTIVE LOGIC VALID ARGUMENT FORMS. APPENDIX C. COMMON INFORMAL FALLACIES. Glossary. Index.

Solomon and Higgins's engaging text covers philosophy's central ideas in an accessible, approachable manner. You'll explore timeless "big questions" about the self, God, justice, and other meaningful topics, gaining the context you need for an understanding of the foundational issues, as well as the confidence to establish your own informed positions on these "big questions."