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Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.

Print Price: $134.99

Format:
Paperback
528 pp.
234 mm x 163 mm

ISBN-13:
9780195155006

Publication date:
August 2000

Imprint: OUP US


Open Questions

An Introduction to Philosophy, Third Edition

Emmett Barcalow

This engaging introduction to the fundamental issues of philosophy will prompt students to think actively about questions such as: Does God exist? Do we have souls? Does human life have meaning? Is there a real difference between right and wrong? and many more. Organized topically, the twelve chapters in the book focus on key philosophical questions and discuss alternative answers (solutions). Author Emmett Barcalow includes readings in every chapter by famous thinkers and well-known philosophers who offer their own answers to these questions--for example, the thoughts of Charles Darwin, Benjamin Franklin, and Mohandas K. Gandhi on the existence of God; Plato's ideas on the body/mind connection; and John Stuart Mill and Immanuel Kant's theories of right and wrong. As students progress through the text, they'll begin to think critically and decide for themselves which answers seem the most reasonable to them. Definitions and other relevant information are placed in the margins for easy reference, and brain teasers--questions for class discussion and student reflection--are integrated throughout. The text also features insightful discussion and review questions at the end of each chapter and two valuable appendices: one on reading philosophy and the other on writing a philosophy paper.
The third edition adds chapter objectives; information on philosophy's subfields; a section on self-knowledge; new material on reflective equilibrium; expanded coverage of the social justification of morality; a new discussion of equal opportunity; a discussion of Feinberg's analysis of four liberty limiting principles; and more. It also adds readings by Rahula, Sartre, Russell, St. Augustine, Constant, Rousseau, and many others.

Preface
1. Philosophy
Subfields of Philosophy
Open and Closed Questions
What It's Most Reasonable to Believe
Evaluating Arguments
Facts and Theories
Two Principal Philosophical Questions
2. God and Philosophy
The Concept of God
Arguments for God's Existence
An Argument Against God's Existence: The Argument from Evil
Faith
Experiencing God's Presence
Religious Belief: Charles Darwin
Franklin's Religious Principles from His Autobiography: Benjamin Franklin
Gandhi's Political Principles: Mohandas K. Gandhi
3. Body and Mind
Life
Soul as the Explanation of Life
Physical Explanations of Life
Mind as the Explanation of Consciousness
Minds
Descartes' Argument for Dualism
Problems for Descartes
Physicalism
Identity Theories
Conclusions
Phaedo: Plato
4. Personal Immortality and Personal Identity
Death and Other Happenings
What Role Do Our Bodies Play in Personal Identity?
Same Psychological Essence
How the Self Depends on the Body
Identifying and Reidentifying People
Dualism, Personal Identity, and Existence After Death
The Doctrine of No-Soul: Anatta: Walpola Rahula
5. Freedom and Determinism
Causality and Personal Identity
Causality and Determinism
Determinism
Determinism and Human Freedom
Soft Determinism/Compatibilism
Reasons and Causes
Probalistic Causality?
What Difference Does It Make Whether We Are Free?
Fatalism
Borderline Cases
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding: John Locke
The Delusion of Free Will: Robert Blatchford
Existentialism: Jean Paul Sartre
6. Knowledge, Truth, and Justification
It's Only a Belief
Belief and Truth
Three Requirements for Knowledge
Justification
Reasons
Self-Knowledge: Beliefs About Our Own Mental States
Alternatives to Perception
Basic Justifiers
On the Value of Scepticism: Bertrand Russell
7. Knowledge and Skepticism
Evaluating the Skeptic's Argument
A Strong and Weak Sense of Know
Perception, Observation, and Induction
Observation and Causal Generalizations
The Virtue of Skepticism
Meditations on the First Philosophy: René Descartes
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding: David Hume
8. Morality
Moral Objectivism
Moral Nonobjectivism
The Divine Command Theory of Morality
Nonobjectivist Moral Theories
Moral Egoism
The Confessions: Saint Augustine
Laws Concerning Character Traits: Moses Maimonides
The Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha: Buddha
The Virtue of Compassion: His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Republic: Plato
9. Moral Justification
Moral Justification
Evaluating Nonmoral Reasons (Premises)
Evaluating Moral Principles
Reflective Equilibrium
Moral Belief and Action
Why Be Moral? The Challenge of Amoralism
The Object of Morality: G. J. Warnock
10. Two Theories of Right and Wrong
Consequentialism
Utilitarianism
Kantian Moral Theory
Utilitarianism: John Stuart Mill
Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals: Immanuel Kant
11. Justice and Rights
Aristotle's Conception of Justice: Treating Equals Equally
Justice and Relevant Differences
Leviathan: Thomas Hobbes
Manifesto of the Communist Party: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
Justice, Gender, and the Family: Susan Moller Okin
12. Liberty and Democracy
Liberty
Is Democracy the Best Form of Government?
The Kind of Liberty Offered to Men at the End of the Last Century: Benjamin Constant
The Social Contract: Jean Jacques Rousseau
Appendices
A. Reading Philosophy
B. Writing a Philosophy Paper
Glossary/Index
Each chapter begins with Objectives and an Introduction and ends with Questions for Discussion and Review and Suggestions for Further Reading

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Emmett Barcalow is at Western New England College.

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