The Philosophy Skills Book Exercises in Philosophical Thinking, Reading, and Writing

by Finn, Stephen J.; Case, Chris; Underwood, Bob; Zuck, Jesse

• ISBN13: 9781441124562
• ISBN10: 144112456X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-05-10
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

The Philosophy Skills Book will help you to master the core skills you need to succeed in your study of Philosophy.

Author Biography

Stephen J.Finn is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Assistant Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at the United States Military Academy, West Point, USA. Chris Case is an Instructor of Philosophy at the United States Military Academy, West Point, USA. Bob Underwood is an Instructor of Philosophy at the United States Military Academy, West Point, USA. Jesse Zuck is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the United States Military Academy, West Point, USA.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
Raising philosophical questions	p. 7
Active reading skills	p. 11
Getting the most out of class	p. 18
Philosophical discussion	p. 25
Identifying the branches of philosophy	p. 28
Understanding metaphysics terms	p. 31
Understanding epistemology terms	p. 39
Understanding ethics terms	p. 46
Understanding political philosophy terms	p. 52
Understanding philosophy of religion terms	p. 58
Counterfactual thinking	p. 63
Understanding philosophical claims	p. 70
Evaluating philosophical claims	p. 74
Understanding arguments	p. 79
Understanding argument types	p. 84
Evaluating arguments	p. 89
Arguments by analogy	p. 94
Informal fallacies	p. 100
Finding arguments in philosophical texts	p. 106
Reading a philosophical text in its historical context	p. 112
Responding to essay prompts	p. 119
Planning to write	p. 123
Writing a descriptive essay	p. 127
Paraphrasing philosophical texts	p. 132
Writing an evaluative essay	p. 138
Using quotations effectively	p. 143
Writing effective introductions and conclusions	p. 147
Revising an essay	p. 153
Test preparation	p. 158
Putting it all together	p. 161
Answers to selected exercises	p. 185
Notes	p. 206
Glossary	p. 212
Bibliography	p. 219
Index	p. 223
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