Philosophy for the 21st Century A Comprehensive Reader

by Cahn, Steven M.

• ISBN13: 9780195147926
• ISBN10: 0195147928
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-11-21
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Philosophy for the 21st Century is the most comprehensive and challengingtopically organized introductory anthology available. It covers all the majorareas of philosophy, including metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, philosophy ofreligion, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, political philosophy,philosophy of science, and aesthetics. A unique collection, it features classicand contemporary selections chosen by a team of young associate editors. Thesescholars--Delia Graff, Robin Jeshion, L. A. Paul, Jesse Prinz, Stuart Rachels,Gabriela Sakamoto, David Sosa, and Cynthia A. Stark--are at the forefront of21st-century philosophy. Each section of the book has been carefully structuredin order to maximize continuity among the readings. The volume includessubstantial readings from such leading contemporary philosophers as David Lewis,Robert Nozick, Thomas Nagel, Derek Parfit, and Sydney Shoemaker. An introductoryessay by Simon Blackburn presents elements of symbolic logic that help studentsbetter comprehend technical passages in the book.

Table of Contents

Preface

About the Editors

Introduction

What Is Philosophy?

The Elements of Logic

Philosophy of Religion

Introduction

Euthyphro

The Ontological Argument

In Behalf of the Fool

Critique of the Ontological Argument

Is Existence a Predicate?

Why the Ontological Argument Fails

Five Ways to Prove the Existence of God

The Cosmological Argument

Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion

Why God Allows Evil

The Moriarty Hypothesis

The Will to Believe

William James and the Will to Believe

The Hiddenness of God

Epistemology

Introduction

Meditations on First Philosophy

An Essay Concerning Human Understanding

Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous

Proof of an External World

On Certainty

The Problem of the Criterion

Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?

Discrimination and Perceptual Knowledge

Knowledge and Scepticism

The Raft and the Pyramid: Coherence Versus Foundations in the Theory of Knowledge

Elusive Knowledge

Epistemology Naturalized

What Is "Naturalized Epistemology"?

Philosophy of Science

Introduction

An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

The Traditional Problem of Induction

The Inference to the Best Explanation

The Experimental Method

Aspects of Scientific Explanation

The Truth Doesn't Explain Much

The New Riddle of Induction

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

Realism and the Theory-Dependence of Experimental Design

Metaphysics

Introduction

On the Relations of Universals and Particulars

Properties

The Doctrine of Arbitrary Undetached Parts

Many, but Almost One

Of Identity and Diversity

Personal Identity and Memory

Personal Identity

Of Motion

Achilles and the Tortoise

Of the Idea of Necessary Connection

Causation

The Sea-Battle Tomorrow

The Problem of Future Contingencies

Freedom and Necessity

Human Freedom and the Self

Alternative Possibilities and Moral Responsibility

The Incompatibility of Free Will and Determinism

Philosophy of Mind

Introduction

Meditations on First Philosophy

The Causes of Behavior

Sensations and Brain Processes

The Mind-Body Problem

Computing Machinery and Intelligence

Can Computers Think?

The "Causal Power"of Machines

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