Philosophy The Quest for Truth

by Pojman, Louis P.; Vaughn, Lewis

• ISBN13: 9780195311327
• ISBN10: 0195311329
• Edition: 7th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-05-09
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Praised for its unique combination of accessibility and comprehensiveness, Philosophy: The Quest for Truth is one of the best-selling textbooks for the introduction to philosophy course. Now in its seventh edition, this acclaimed text provides an excellent selection of classical and contemporary readings on nineteen key problems in philosophy. Louis P. Pojman and new coeditor Lewis Vaughn have carefully organized the essays in each section so that they present pro/con dialogues that allow students to compare and contrast the philosophers' positions. Topics covered include the nature of philosophy, logic, the existence of God, immortality, knowledge, the mind-body question, personal identity, free will and determinism, ethics, political philosophy, the meaning of life, abortion, capital punishment, animal rights, and affirmative action. Pojman and Vaughn provide substantial introductions to each major section. In addition, each of the eighty-four readings is accompanied by study questions, end-of-reading reflective questions, and an individual introduction featuring a biographical sketch of the philosopher. Short bibliographies following each major section, a detailed glossary of key terms, and an appendix--on reading and writing philosophy papers--further enhance the text's pedagogical value. FEATURES OF THE SEVENTH EDITION * Eleven new readings including selections by David Chalmers, Roderick M. Chisholm, Jerry A. Fodor, David Hume, Soren Kierkegaard, Don Marquis, Michael Martin, James Rachels, Bertrand Russell, Harvey Siegel, and Judith Jarvis Thomson * An expanded and improved discussion of logic and arguments (in Part I) * Updated headnotes and bibliographies * An Instructor's Manual that provides a concise summary of each reading; a bank of 672 test questions (multiple-choice and true/false); a set of essay questions for each reading; a list of key terms; sample syllabi/course schedules; and useful web links * An Online Student Study Guide containing more than three hundred study questions; flashcards for all key terms; two essay questions for each reading; and a list of helpful web links categorized by philosophical problem

Table of Contents

New to this edition

Each Part opens with an Introduction and ends with Suggestions for Further Reading

Preface

What Is Philosophy?

Socratic Wisdom

Of Enthusiasm and the Quest for Truth

The Value of Philosophy

Excursus: A Little Bit of Logic

Deductive and Inductive Reasoning

Inference to the Best Explanation

Some Applications

Fallacies of Reasoning

Exercises in Critical Reasoning

Questions for Discussion

Philosophy Of Religion

Is Belief in God Rationally Justified?

Arguments for the Existence of God

The Cosmological Argument Pro

The Five Ways

The Kalam Cosmological Argument and the Anthropic Principle

Contra

A Critique of the Cosmological Argument

The Teleological Argument Pro

The Watch and the Watchmaker Contra

A Critique of the Teleological Argument

The Ontological Argument

Pro et Contra

The Ontological Argument

An Analysis of the Ontological Argument

Why Is There Evil?

Why Is There Evil?

Why Doesn't God Intervene to Prevent Evil?

There Is a Reason Why God Allows Evil

Is Faith Compatible with Reason?

Yes, Faith Is a Logical Bet

The Ethics of Belief

The Will to Believe

A Debate on the Rationality of Religious Belief

Religious Belief Without Evidence

Faith and Truth

Holy Spirit Epistemology

Can Religion Cure Our Troubles?

Knowledge

What Can We Know?

Classical Theories of Knowledge

Cartesian Doubt and the Search for Foundational Knowledge

The Empiricist Theory of Knowledge

An Idealist Theory of Knowledge

The Origin of Our Ideas and Skepticism about Causal Reasoning

An Argument Against Skepticism

Truth, Rationality, and Cognitive Relativism

The Correspondence Theory of Truth

The Pragmatic Theory of Truth

Dismantling Truth: Solidarity versus Objectivity

Postmodernism and Truth

Relativism

Philosophy Of Mind: The Mind-Body Problem

What Am I? A Mind or a Body?

Dualistic Interactionism

Exorcising Descartes' "Ghost in the Machine"

A Contemporary Defense of Dualism

On Functionalism and Materialism

What Is It Like to Be a Bat?

The Mind-Body Problem

Property Dualism

Minds, Brains, and Computers

Who Am I? Do We Have Personal Identity?

Our Psychological Properties Define the Self

We Have No Substantial Self with Which We Are Identical

Brain Transplants and Personal Identity: A Dialogue

Is Ther

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