Philosophy : The Quest for Truth

by Pojman, Louis P.

• ISBN13: 9780195189445
• ISBN10: 0195189442
• Edition: 6th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-08-18
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Praised for its accessibility and comprehensiveness, Philosophy: The Quest for Truth provides an excellent selection of classical and contemporary readings on nineteen key problems in philosophy. Louis P. Pojman has carefully organized the essays in each section so that they present pro/condialogues that allow students to compare and contrast the philosophers' positions. Topics covered include the nature of philosophy, the existence of God, immortality, knowledge, the mind-body question, personal identity, free will and determinism, ethics, political philosophy, and the meaning oflife. The sixth edition offers selections from Plato, Rene Descartes, John Locke, David Hume, William James, Bertrand Russell, John Hick, John Hospers, and James Rachels--as well as essays by Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Blaise Pascal, Thomas Hobbes, George Berkeley, Immanuel Kant, Gilbert Ryle,Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Alvin Plantinga, and many others. In Philosophy: The Quest for Truth, Sixth Edition, Pojman offers substantial introductions to each of the nineteen philosophical problems. In addition, each of the seventy-six readings is accompanied by an individual introduction with a biographical sketch of the philosopher, study questions,and reflective questions that challenge students to analyze and critique the material. Short bibliographies following each major section and a detailed glossary further enhance the text's pedagogical value. Invaluable for introductory courses in philosophy, this highly acclaimed text inspires andguides students' quest for wisdom. New to the Sixth Edition:: * Six selections: William Lane Craig: The Kalam Cosmological Argument and the Anthropic Principle William Rowe: An Analysis of the Ontological Argument Daniel Dennett: Postmodernism and Truth William James: The Dilemma of Determinism Harry Frankfurt: Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person John Rawls: The Contemporary Liberal Answer * More exercises in the excursus on logic

Table of Contents

Preface	xiii
What Is Philosophy?	1	(46)
Introduction	2	(27)
Socratic Wisdom	6	(12)
Plato
Of Enthusiasm and the Quest for Truth	18	(6)
John Locke
The Value of Philosophy	24	(5)
Bertrand Russell
Excursus: A Little Bit of Logic	29	(1)
Deductive and Inductive Reasoning	30	(4)
Abductive Reasoning	34	(2)
Some Applications	36	(2)
Fallacies of Reasoning	38	(3)
Logic Exercises	41	(4)
Suggestions for Further Reading	45	(2)
Philosophy of Religion	47	(116)
Introduction	48	(1)
Is Belief in God Rationally Justified? Arguments for the Existence of God	48	(1)
The Cosmological Argument	49	(33)
Pro
The Five Ways	50	(4)
Thomas Aquinas
The Kalam Cosmological Argument and the Anthropic Principle	54	(18)
William Lane Craig
Contra
A Critique of the Cosmological Argument	72	(10)
Paul Edwards
The Teleological Argument	82	(11)
Pro
The Watch and the Watchmaker	83	(3)
William Palcy
Contra
A Critique of the Teleological Argument	86	(7)
David Hume
The Ontological Argument	93	(16)
Pro et Contra
The Ontological Argument	94	(4)
St. Anselm
Gaunilo
An Analysis of the Ontological Argument	98	(11)
William Rowe
Why Is There Evil?	109	(16)
Why Is There Evil?	111	(4)
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Why Doesn't God Intervene to Prevent Evil?	115	(5)
B.C. Johnson
There Is a Reason Why God Allows Evil	120	(5)
John Hick
Is Faith Compatible with Reason?	125	(36)
Yes, Faith Is a Logical Bet	126	(3)
Blaise Pascal
The Ethics of Belief	129	(5)
W. K. Clifford
The Will to Believe	134	(9)
William James
A Debate on the Rationality of Religious Belief	143	(6)
Antony Flew
R. M. Hare
Basil Mitchell
Religious Belief Without Evidence	149	(12)
Alvin Plantinga
Suggestions for Further Reading	161	(2)
Knowledge	163	(78)
Introduction	164	(1)
What Can We Know? Classical Theories of Knowledge	164	(45)
Cartesian Doubt and the Search for Foundational Knowledge	165	(6)
Rene Descartes
The Empiricist Theory of Knowledge	171	(12)
John Locke
An Idealist Theory of Knowledge	183	(9)
George Berkeley
The Origin of Our Ideas and Skepticism about Causal Reasoning	192	(9)
David Hume
An Argument Against Skepticism	201	(8)
John Hospers
Truth, Rationality, and Cognitive Relativism	209	(31)
The Correspondence Theory of Truth	211	(5)
Bertrand Russell
The Pragmatic Theory of Truth	216	(9)
William James
Dismantling Truth: Solidarity versus Objectivity	225	(8)
Richard Rorty
Postmodernism and Truth	233	(7)
Daniel Dennett
Suggestions for Further Reading	240	(1)
Philosophy of Mind: The Mind-Body Problem	241	(102)
Introduction	242	(1)
What Am I? A Mind or a Body?	242	(59)
Dualistic Interactionism	245	(7)
Rene Descartes
Exorcising Descartes' ``Ghost in the Machine''	252	(6)
Gilbert Ryle
A Contemporary Defense of Dualism	258	(11)
J. P. Moreland
On Functionalism and Materialism	269	(16)
Paul Churchland
What Is It Like to Be a Bat?	285	(8)
Thomas Nagel
Minds, Brains, and Computers	293	(8)
John Searle
Who Am I? Do We Have Personal Identity?	301	(17)
Our Psychological Properties Define the Self	305	(4)
John Locke
We Have No Substantial Self with Which We Are Identical	309	(3)
David Hume
Brain Transplants and Personal Identity: A Dialogue	312	(6)
Derek Parfit
Godfrey Vesey
Is There Life after Death? Am I Immortal?	318	(23)
Arguments for the Immortality of the Soul	319	(5)
Plato
An Argument Against Survival: The Dependence of Consciousness on the Brain	324	(9)
Paul Edwards
In Defense of Immortality	333	(8)
John Hick
Suggestions for Further Reading	341	(2)
Freedom of the Will and Determinism	343	(52)
Introduction	344	(49)
Contra
We Are Completely Determined	349	(6)
Baron d'Holbach
Pro
The Dilemma of Determinism	355	(10)
William James
Freedom of the Will and Human Responsibility	365	(3)
Corliss Lamont
Pro et Contra
Compatibilism	368	(6)
W.T. Stace
Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person	374	(10)
Harry Frankfurt
Contra
Fate	384	(9)
Richard Taylor
Suggestions for Further Reading	393	(2)
Ethics	395	(84)
Introduction	396	(3)
Are There Any Moral Absolutes or Is Morality Completely Relative?	399	(15)
Morality Is Relative	400	(5)
Ruth Benedict
Morality Is Not Relative	405	(9)
James Rachels
Ethics and Egoism: Why Should We Be Moral?	414	(24)
Why Should I Be Moral? Gyges' Ring and Socrates' Dilemma	415	(5)
Plato
In Defense of Ethical Egoism	420	(7)
Ayn Rand
A Critique of Ethical Egoism	427	(11)
Louis P. Pojman
Which Is the Correct Ethical Theory?	438	(37)
The Ethics of Virtue	439	(10)
Aristotle
The Moral Law	449	(13)
Immanuel Kant
Utilitarianism	462	(7)
John Stuart Mill
Existentialist Ethics	469	(6)
Jean-Paul Sartre
Suggestions for Further Reading	475	(4)
Political Philosophy	479	(50)
Introduction	480	(48)
In Defense of Anarchism	481	(5)
Robert Paul Wolff
The Absolutist Answer	486	(10)
Thomas Hobbes
The Democratic Answer	496	(6)
John Locke
A Classical Liberal Answer	502	(7)
John Stuart Mill
The Communist Answer	509	(9)
Karl Marx
Friedrich Engels
The Contemporary Liberal Answer	518	(10)
John Rawls
Suggestions for Further Reading	528	(1)
What Is the Meaning of Life?	529	(38)
Introduction	530	(35)
Moderate Hedonism	531	(6)
Epicurus
Stoicism	537	(9)
Epictetus
Life Is Absurd	546	(5)
Albert Camus
Religion Gives Meaning to Life	551	(4)
Lois Hope Walker
The Absurd	555	(8)
Thomas Nagel
Reflections on Suffering	563	(2)
Bertrand Russell
Suggestions for Further Reading	565	(2)
Philosophy in Action	567	(80)
Introduction	568	(1)
Is Abortion Morally Permissible?	568	(20)
Contra
Abortion Is Not Morally Permissible	569	(5)
John T. Noonan, Jr.
Pro
Abortion Is Morally Permissible	574	(7)
Mary Anne Warren
Pro et Contra
The Moderate Position	581	(7)
Jane English
Is the Death Penalty Morally Permissible?	588	(20)
Contra
The Death Penalty Is a Denial of Human Dignity	589	(4)
Thurgood Marshall
Pro
The Death Penalty Is Permissible	593	(5)
Burton Leiser
Contra
No, the Death Penalty Is Not Morally Permissible	598	(10)
Hugo Adam Bedau
Do Animals Have Rights?	608	(9)
Pro
The Case for Animal Liberation	609	(4)
Peter Singer
Contra
The Case Against Animal Rights	613	(4)
Carl Cohen
Is Affirmative Action Morally Justified?	617	(28)
Pro
The Case for Affirmative Action	620	(11)
Albert Mosley
Contra
The Case Against Affirmative Action	631	(14)
Louis P. Pojman
Suggestions for Further Reading	645	(2)
Appendix: How to Read and Write a Philosophy Paper	647	(4)
Glossary	651