The Truth About the World: Basic Readings in Philosophy

by Rachels, James; Rachels, Stuart

• ISBN13: 9780073386614
• ISBN10: 0073386618
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-11-05
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages

Summary

This collection of essays addresses some of the most important issues in philosophy, involving God, the mind, freedom, knowledge, and ethics. It can accompany James and Stuart Rachels' introductory text,Problems from Philosophy, or it can stand alone with great effectiveness.The Truth About the WorldandProblems from Philosophyare James Rachels' last contributions to philosophy, and each book has now been revised by his son, Stuart. In these two books, the respected author found a culminating expression for his love of philosophy.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Plato
Socrates' Trial	p. 7
Socrates' Decision to Die	p. 32
Socrates' Question about Justice	p. 45
God
Five Ways to Prove That God Exists	p. 55
The Watch and the Watch-Maker	p. 63
The Fine-Tuning Argument	p. 68
Why Doesn't God Intervene?	p. 83
The Problem of Evil	p. 90
Why I Am Not a Christian	p. 99
You Bet Your Life: Pascal's Wager Defended	p. 114
The Mind
Do We Survive Death?	p. 127
Split Brains and Personal Identity	p. 132
Where Am I?	p. 141
The Mind-Brain Identity Theory	p. 156
Bat Sonar	p. 169
Facing Up to the Problem of Consciousness	p. 173
The Myth of the Computer	p. 186
Freedom
Existentialism Is a Humanism	p. 195
Compatibilism Defended	p. 212
On Liberty	p. 219
Knowledge
Meditations I and II	p. 225
Does Matter Exist?	p. 235
The Lure of Radical Skepticism	p. 240
Reality	p. 258
Ethics
Ethics and Human Feeling	p. 271
Our Sense of Right and Wrong	p. 275
Four Ethical Principles	p. 280
The Debate over Utilitarianism	p. 286
The Virtues	p. 302
The Meaning of Life	p. 314
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