Critical Thinking: The Basics is an accessible and engaging introduction to the field of critical thinking, drawing on philosophy, communication, and psychology. Emphasising its relevance both to academic literacy and to decision-making in a range of contexts, this book introduces and explains the knowledge, methods, and skills needed to identify and avoid poor reasoning, reconstruct and evaluate arguments, and engage constructively in dialogues.

Topics covered include:

The relationship between critical thinking, emotions, and the psychology of persuasion

The role of character dispositions such as open-mindedness, courage, and self-knowledge

Argument identification and reconstruction

Fallacies and argument evaluation.

This second edition has been revised and updated throughout, and includes an additional chapter on the relationship between critical thinking and emotions. There are also new sections on concepts such as the ‘experiential mind’ and ‘need for cognitive closure’, and contemporary examples drawn from issues including conspiracy theories, the pandemic, and misuses of social media.

With updated and expanded discussion questions/exercises and suggestions for further reading at the end of each main chapter, this book is an essential read for students approaching the field of critical thinking for the first time, and for the general reader wanting to improving their thinking skills and decision-making abilities.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Rationality and cognitive biases

2. Critical thinking and emotions

3. Critical thinking and dispositions

4. Arguments and argument reconstruction

5. Argument forms and fallacies

6. Arguments, social power, and message source (Part 1)

7. Arguments, social power, and message source (Part 2)

8. Causal arguments, generalisations, arguments from consequences, and slippery slope arguments

9. Arguments from analogy

10. Further fallacies

Conclusion.

Glossary

References

Index/

Philosophy of Social Science: A Contemporary Introduction examines perennial questions of philosophy through engaging the empirical study of society. Questions of normativity concern the place of values in social scientific inquiry. Questions of naturalism concern the relationship between the natural and the social sciences.　 And questions of reductionism ask how social institutions relate to the people who constitute them.　

This accessible text offers a comprehensive overview of debates in the field, with special attention to new research programs. Topics include the relationship of social policy to social science, interpretive research, cognitive and evolutionary explanations, intentional action explanation, rational choice theory, conventions and social norms, joint intentionality, causal inference, and experimentation.　

Detailed examples of social scientific research motivate the philosophical questions and illustrate the important concepts. Treating philosophical commitments as implicit in social science, students of the social sciences will benefit from its application of philosophical argument to methodological and theoretical problems. The text argues that social science transforms philosophical questions, and students of philosophy will benefit from its direct engagement with contemporary debates.

The Second Edition provides updates with the most recent literature and adds two new chapters: one on modeling and one on the role of race and gender in the social sciences.

Key Updates to the Second Edition:

A new chapter on "Modeling and Explaining," which explores how models represent social systems and whether highly idealized models explain

A new chapter on "Race and Other Social Constructions," capturing much of the recent empirical research and philosophical interest in the social construction of categories like race and gender

Revised and updated chapters throughout, clarifying earlier presentations and bringing discussions from the First Edition into line with new research

Updated annotated Further Reading lists, which now include relevant publications from 2013 to 2022.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

1.1. What is the Philosophy of Social Science?

1.2. A Tour of the Philosophical Neighborhood

2. Objectivity, Values, and the Possibility of a Social Science

2.1. The Ideal of Value-Freedom

2.2. Impartiality and Theory Choice

2.3. Essentially Contested Ideas

2.4. Wrap Up

3. Theories, Interpretations, and Concepts

3.1. Aggression, Violence, and Video Games

3.2. Defining Theoretical concepts

3.3. Interpretivism

3.4. Wrap Up

4. Interpretive Methodology

4.1. Evidence for Interpretation

4.2. Rationality, Explanation, and Interpretive Charity

4.3. Cognition, Evolution, and Interpretation

4.4. Wrap Up

5. Action and Agency

5.1. Explaining Action

5.2. The Games People Play

5.3. Agency

5.4. Wrap Up

6. Modeling and Explaining

6.1. Modeling Segregation

6.2. Learning From Models

6.3. The Explanation Paradox

6.4. Wrap Up

7. Reductionism: Structures, Agents, and Evolution

7.1. Explaining Revolutions

7.2. Social Theory and Social Ontology

7.3. Agents and Social Explanations

7.4. Evolutionary Explanations

7.5. Wrap Up

8. Race and Other Social Constructions

8.1. Race in the Social Sciences: A Brief History

8.2. Reductionism and the Social Construction of Race

8.3. Is Race Real? From Social Construction to Social Kinds

8.4. Wrap Up

9. Social Norms

9.1. Disenchanting the Social World

9.2. Norms and Rational Choices

9.3. Normativity and Practice

9.4. Is Unification Possible?

9.5. Wrap Up

10. Intentions, Institutions, and Collective Action

10.1. Agency and Collective Intentionality

10.2. Joint Intentionality

10.3. Intentions and Institutions

10.4. Wrap Up

11. Causality and Law in the Social World

11.1. The Democratic Peace Hypothesis

11.2. Are There Social Scientific Laws?

11.3. Causation and Law

11.4. Interventions, Capacities, and Mechanisms

11.5. Wrap Up

12. Methodologies of Causal Inference

12.1. Bayesian Networks and Causal Modeling

12.2. Case Studies and Causal Structure

12.3. Experimentation

12.4. Extrapolation and Social Engineering

12.5. Wrap Up

This collection reflects recent discussions on the relation between identity and difference in metaphysics, and in moral and political theory in both the analytic and continental traditions. The contributions to the volume tackle such issues as the role and place of the concept of identity in Hegel’s Science of Logic; the question of personal identity in Parfit, Riceour and Schechtman; the problem of inclusion and exclusion in Heidegger’s reading of the history of philosophy; Heidegger’s conception of the relation between philosophy and politics, the question of alterity in Levinas; and Foucault’s conception of the relation between sexual instinct, economic interest, and desire. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Identity and Difference Rafael Winkler and Abraham Olivier

1. Hegelian Identity Ioannis Trisokkas

2. Technological Fictions and Personal Identity: On Ricoeur, Schechtman and Analytic Thought Experiments Simon Beck

3. Heidegger’s Jews: Inclusion/Exclusion and Heidegger’s Anti-Semitism Babette Babich

4. Heidegger, the Pólis, the Political and Gelassenheit Tracy B. Strong

5. Levinas and the Possibility of Dialogue with "Strangers" Benda Hofmeyr

6. The Government of Desire: A Genealogical Perspective Miguel de Beistegui

Animal Ethics has long been a highly contested area with debates driven by unease about various forms of animal harm, from the use of animals in scientific research to the farming of animals for consumption. Animal Ethics: The Basics is an essential introduction to the key considerations surrounding the ethical treatment of animals. Taking a thematic approach, it outlines the current arguments from animal agency to the emergence of the ‘political turn’. This book explores such questions as:

Can animals think and do they suffer?

What do we mean by speciesism?

Are humans special?

Can animals be political or moral agents?

Is animal rights protest ethical?

Including outlines of the key arguments, suggestions for further reading and a glossary of key terms, this book is an essential read for philosophy students and readers approaching the contested field of Animal Ethics for the first time.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1. Picturing Animal Ethics 2. Singer’s Utilitarianism 3. Regan on Animal Rights 4. Contract Theories 5.What is so special about Humans? 6. The Holocaust Analogy 7. Abolitionism 8. Animals and the Environment 9. The Political Turn. Conclusion Glossary Index

Packed with examples, this book offers a clear and engaging overview of ethical issues in business.

It begins with a discussion of foundational issues, including the objectivity of ethics, the content of ethical theories, and the debate between capitalism and socialism, making it suitable for the beginning student. It then examines ethical issues in business in three broad areas. The first is the market. Issues explored are what can be sold (the limits of markets) and how it can be sold (ethics in marketing). The second is work. Topics in this area are health and safety, meaningful work, compensation, hiring and firing, privacy, and whistleblowing. The third area is the firm in society. Here readers explore corporate social responsibility, corporate political activity, and the set of ethical challenges that attend international business.

Issues are introduced through real-world examples that underscore their importance and make them come alive. Arguments for opposing positions are given fair hearings and students are encouraged to develop and defend their own views.

Key Features

Introduces each topic with a real-world example, which is referenced regularly in the subsequent argument.

Contains a critical evaluation of capitalism and socialism, with a focus on private property, the market system, and the welfare state.

Explores the limits of markets and encourages students to ask what should and should not be for sale.

Explores the phenomena of corporate political activity and ethical consumerism.

Includes initial chapter overviews and – at the end of each chapter – study questions and suggested additional readings.

Table of Contents

1. Business, Ethics, and Business Ethics

1.1 What is Business?

1.2 What is Ethics?

1.3 Business Ethics and Business Law

1.4 Why Study Business Ethics?

1.5 What Is This Book Meant to Do and Not Do?

1.6 Plan of This Book

1.7 Chapter Summary

1.8 Study Questions

2. Skepticism about Ethics

2.1 Facts Versus Opinions

2.2 Truth

2.3 Proof

2.4 Chapter Summary

2.5 Study Questions

3. Ethics: Theory and Method

3.1 The Relevance of Ethical Theory

3.2 Ethical Theories

3.3 Searching for Common Ground

3.4 A Set of Principles

3.5 How to Make Progress

3.6 Chapter Summary

3.7 Study Questions

4. Political and Economic Systems

4.1 Capitalism Versus Socialism

4.2 The Welfare State

4.3 Private Versus Social Ownership of the Means of Production

4.4 Markets Versus Planning

4.5 Chapter Summary

4.6 Study Questions

5. What Can Be Sold?

5.1 Does It Work?

5.2 Is It Safe?

5.3 Is It Fit for Sale?

5.4 Chapter Summary

5.5 Study Questions

6. How Can It Be Sold?

6.1 What’s Good About Advertising?

6.2 Deception

6.3 Persuasion

6.4 Vulnerable Populations

6.5 Pricing

6.6 Chapter Summary

7.7 Study Questions

7. Ethics at Work, Part 1

7.1 Working at Amazon

7.2 Health and Safety

7.3 Meaningful Work

7.4 Control and Participation

7.5 Pay

7.6 Chapter Summary

7.7 Study Questions

8. Ethics at Work, Part 2

8.1 Who Is Hired? Who Can Be Fired?

8.2 Privacy at Work

8.3 Whistleblowing

8.4 Chapter Summary

8.5 Study Questions

9. Corporate Social Responsibility

9.1 Understanding the Issue

9.2 The Kind of Corporate Responsibility We Are Interested In

9.3 Merck and River Blindness

9.4 Milton Friedman and Shareholder Theory

9.5 R. Edward Freeman and Stakeholder Theory

9.6 CSR, the Shareholder/Stakeholder Debate, and Beneficence

9.7 Relying on Corporations

9.8 Chapter Summary

9.9 Study Questions

10. Business and Politics

10.1 Varieties of Corporate Political Activity

10.2 Corporate Political Activity that Makes the World a Better Place?

10.3 Corporate Political Activity and Private Interests: Against and For

10.4 Freedom of Expression

10.5 Corporate Political Activity and Democracy: Power and Equality

10.6 Corporate Political Activity and Democracy: Representation

10.7 Ethical Consumerism

10.8 Chapter Summary

10.9 Study Questions

11. Business Ethics Across Borders

11.1 The Garment Industry in Bangladesh

11.2 Cultural Relativism

11.3 Labor Conditions

11.4 Corruption and Bribery

11.5 Divestment

11.6 Chapter Summary

11.7 Study Questions

Post-colonial Africa provides the context for this exploration of a crucial yet neglected perspective in African philosophy. Tsenay Serequeberhan's critical reading of the philosophical insights of post-colonial African literature and examination of the self-understanding of the African liberation struggles allow a concrete development of the hermeneutic possibilities of African thought. His critical use of other insights from the European tradition of philosophical hermeneutics allows him to continue the work of Theophilius Okere and Okonda Okolo in developing an African philosophical hermeneutics.
In The Hermeneutics of African Philosophy, Serequeberhan shows how African philosophical hermeneutics overcomes the prolonged and stale debate between ethnophilosophy and professional philosophy over the nature of African philosophy, carefully demonstrating that the promise for this fast-growing area lies in the critical development of the African hermeneutical perspective.

The issue of whether humans are free to make their own decisions has long been debated, and it continues to be controversial today. In Free Will: The Basics Meghan Griffith provides a clear and accessible introduction to this important but challenging philosophical problem. She addresses the questions central to the topic including:

Does free will exist, or is it illusory?

Can we be free even if everything is determined by a chain of causes? If our actions are not determined, does this mean they are just random or a matter of luck?

In order to have the kind of freedom required for moral responsibility, must we have alternatives?

What can recent developments in science tell us about the existence of free will?

These questions are discussed without prejudicing one view over others, and all technical terminology is clearly explained.

This second edition has been revised and updated throughout, with the addition of new sections on dispositionalism, free will as self-organization, and situationism in psychology. Up-to-date suggestions for further reading and a glossary are also included, making Free Will: The Basics an ideal introduction for anyone coming to the subject for the first time.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. The Compatibility Issue

3. Moral Responsibility and Alternative Possibilities

4. Some Compatibilist Proposals

5. Some Incompatibilist Proposals

6. Other Positions

7. Free Will and Science

8. Where Does This Leave Us? Some Concluding Thoughts.

Glossary

Index

When graduate students start their studies, they usually have sound knowledge of some areas of philosophy, but the overall map of their knowledge is often patchy and disjointed. There are a number of topics that any contemporary philosopher working in any part of the analytic tradition (and in many parts of other traditions too) needs to grasp, and to grasp as a coherent whole rather than a rag-bag of interesting but isolated discussions. This book answers this need, by providing a overview of core topics in metaphysics and epistemology that is at once accessible and nuanced. Ten core topics are explained, and their relation to each other is clearly set out. The book emphasizes the utility of the concepts and distinctions it covers for philosophy as a whole, not just for specialist discussions in metaphysics or epistemology. The text is highly readable and may be used as the basis of a course on these topics. Recommendations for reading are included at the end of each chapter, divided into essential and further readings. The text is also suitable for people approaching philosophy from other disciplines, as an accessible primer to the central topics, concepts and distinctions that are needed to engage meaningfully in contemporary philosophical debate.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Induction 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Learning from Experience 1.3 Generalizing the Problem 1.4 Attempted Solutions 1.5 The New Riddle of Induction 1.6 Key Concepts and Distinctions 1.7 Readings 2 Similarity 2.1 Introduction 2.2 One Over Many 2.3 Sets, Properties, Kinds 2.4 Realism 2.5 Nominalism 2.6 Key Concepts and Distinctions 2.7 Readings Part 3: Causation 3.1 Introduction 3.2 From Induction to Causation 3.3 What Is Causation? 3.4 Regularities 3.5 Counterfactuals 3.6 Deeper Questions 3.7 Different Questions 3.8 Taking Stock 3.9 Key Concepts and Distinctions 3.10 Readings Part 4: Laws of Nature 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Regularities 4.3 Sophisticated Regularity Views 4.4 Necessitation 4.5 Where Does This Leave Us? 4.6 Key Concepts and Distinctions 4.7 Readings Part 5: Meaning and Experience 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Verificationism 5.3 Difficulties for the Verification Principle 5.4 Analyticity 5.5 Does Quine Go Too Far? 5.6 Key Concepts and Distinctions 5.7 Readings Part 6: Reference 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Russell’s Theory of Descriptions 6.3 Rigid Designation and Semantic Externalism 6.4 Global Descriptivism 6.5 Key Concepts and Distinctions 6.6 Readings Part 7: Truth 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Correspondence 7.3 Coherence and Pragmatism 7.4 Semantic Theories and Deflationism 7.5 Truth and Relativism 7.6 Key Concepts and Distinctions 7.7 Readings Part 8: Mind 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Substance Dualism 8.3 The Problem of Interaction 8.4 Property Dualism 8.5 Objections to the Knowledge Argument 8.6 Mental Causation and Epiphenomenalism 8.7 The Identity Thesis 8.8 Behaviorism and Functionalism 8.9 Key Concepts and Distinctions 8.10 Readings Part 9: Knowledge 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Skepticism 9.3 The Justificatory Project: Refuting Skepticism 9.4 The Descriptive Project 9.5 Gettier Cases 9.6 Externalism 9.7 Other Topics 9.8 Key Concepts and Distinctions 9.9 Readings Part10: Philosophical Methods 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Argument 10.3 Conceptual Analysis 10.4 Intuition and Thought Experiment 10.5 Reflective Equilibrium and Cost-Benefit Analysis 10.6 Discovering Truths 10.7 What Is Philosophy? 10.8 Key Concepts and Distinctions 10.9 Readings

Metaphysics: The Basics is a concise and engaging introduction to the philosophical study of some of the most important and foundational aspects of the world in which we live. Concerned with questions about existence, time, identity, change, and other basic elements of our common-sense and scientific ways of thinking about the world, metaphysics has long fascinated people. But to the uninitiated, many of the issues and problems can appear bewilderingly complex and intractable. In this lively and lucid book, Michael Rea examines and explains the core questions in the study of metaphysics—questions such as:

What is the relationship between an object and its properties, or between an object and its parts?

What is time, and is time travel possible?

Are human beings free?

What is it for an object or person to persist over time?

This second edition has been thoroughly revised and includes a new chapter on the metaphysics of gender. With suggestions for further reading and a glossary of key terms, Metaphysics: The Basics is an ideal introduction for those coming to the subject for the first time.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. Things that don’t eist

3. Abstract objects

4. Possible worlds

5. Time

6. Time travel

7. Substance

8. Things and their parts

9. Change and identity

10. Freedom

11. Social metaphysics—gender

12. Metaphysics and its critics

Glossary

Index/

Can human life be meaningful? What does talk about life’s meaning even mean? What is God’s role, if any, in a meaningful life? These three questions frame this one-of-a-kind debate between two philosophers who have spent most of their professional lives thinking and writing about the topic of life’s meaning.

In this wide-ranging scholarly conversation, Professors Thaddeus Metz and Joshua W. Seachris develop and defend their own unique answers to these questions, while responding to each other’s objections in a lively dialog format. Seachris argues that the concept of life’s meaning largely revolves around three interconnected ideas—mattering, purpose, and sense-making; that a meaningful human life involves sufficiently manifesting all three; and that God would importantly enhance the meaningfulness of life on each of these three fronts. Metz instead holds that talk of life’s meaning is about a variety of properties such as meriting pride, transcending one’s animal self, making a contribution, and authoring a life-story. For him, many lives are meaningful insofar as they exercise intelligence in positive, robust, and developmental ways. Finally, Metz argues that God is unnecessary for an objective meaning that suits human nature.

Metz and Seachris develop and defend their own unique answers to these three questions, while responding to each other’s objections in a dialog format that is accessible to students though—given their new contributions—will be of great interest to scholars as well.

Key Features

Offers an up-to-date scholarly conversation on life’s meaning by two researchers at the forefront of research on the topic.

Provides a wide-ranging, yet orderly discussion of the most important issues.

Accessible for the student investigating the topic for the first time yet also valuable to the scholar working on life’s meaning.

Includes helpful pedagogical features, like:

- Chapter outlines and introductions;

- Annotated reading lists for both students and research-level readers;

- A glossary; and

- Clear examples, thought experiments, narratives, and cultural references, which enhance the book’s role in thinking about life’s meaning and related topics.

Table of Contents

Foreword

John Martin Fischer

Opening Statements

1. Triadic Meaning and the Benefits of God

Joshua W. Seachris

2. Making Life Meaningful Without God or a Soul

Thaddeus Metz

First Round of Replies

3. "Some" Meaning Without God or a Soul: Reply to Metz

Joshua W. Seachris

4. Considering the Benefits of God: Reply to Seachris

Thaddeus Metz

Second Round of Replies

5. God Is Still Better News for Meaning: Response to Metz's Reply

Joshua W. Seachris

6. Types of Meaning and the Natural as Their Source: Response to Seachris' Reply

Thaddeus Metz

Basic Ethics presents for a wide range of students and other interested readers the questions raised in thinking about ethical problems, the answers offered by moral philosophy, and the means to better integrate into both the reader’s world and personal life. It takes up what the author calls a "worldview theory," which shows readers how to begin with the values and understanding of the world that they already possess in order to transition from there to new levels of increasing ethical awareness. Updates to the third edition include the more thorough integration of feminist ethics into the principal theoretical traditions, a new chapter on the ethical responsibility to be well informed of current events, expanded coverage of human rights, and additional opportunities on how to use ethical reasoning in thinking about one’s own life and about public policy.

Key Features:

Links personal values to a philosophical treatment of the major ethical theories

Presents ethics in the context of social/political issues that face our nation and the world

Challenges the student to react to the presented material through critical exercises that may be used as weekly assignments and can form the basis of class discussion and evaluation.

Engages the student to think about underlying issues first (in the basic questions) before presenting the most popular solutions (in the basic answers)

Invites the reader to make up her own mind on how to formulate an ethical theory that will help her in her own life

Offers a 16-chapter format to fit into most college-semester calendars

Presents an overall structure that establishes foundational problems in ethical theory in the first section of the book that are variously addressed by the different ethical theories in the second section of the book

Highlights key terms to help the reader grapple with issues raised (which are reviewed and defined in a final Glossary)

Includes a final chapter designed to help students comprehend the book in its entirety.

Updates to the Third Edition:

Highlights new research on human rights and their relevance to ethical thinking and contemporary moral issues

Integrates feminist ethics into the principal theoretical traditions: virtue ethics, ethical intuitionism, and some versions of deontology

Provides new coverage of "fake news" and the moral responsibility to be well and accurately informed of current events

Expands opportunities to use ethical reasoning in thinking about one’s own life and about public policy.

Table of Contents

Part I: The Basic Questions

1. Living in a World of Values

I. Who We Are and What Do We Value?

II.What Is Ethics?

III.The Individual: Metaethics, Normative Ethics, and Applied Ethics

IV. The Society: Social and Political Ethics

Key Terms

End of Chapter Exercise

Notes

2. Personal Worldview and Community Worldview

I. The Normative Nature of Worldview

II. Personal Worldview

III. Community Worldview

Key Terms

End of Chapter Exercise

Notes

3. The Ethical Duty to Be Knowledgeable about Your World

I. Epistemology and Action Theory

II. Living in Community and the Obligation to Be an Active Member

III. What Are Facts and What Is Opinion?

IV. Facts and Decision Making

V. How to Ferret out Facts from Propaganda

VI. Deductive, Inductive, and Abductive Logic

Conclusion

Key Terms

End of Chapter Exercise

Notes

4. Relativism

I. Cultural Relativism

II. Moral Relativism

III. What Is at Stake?

Key Terms

End of Chapter Exercise

Notes

5. Egoism

I. Introduction

II. Psychological Egoism

III. Ethical Egoism

IV. Egoism and Altruism

Key Terms

End of Chapter Exercise

Notes

6. Are People Good or Bad?

I. Introduction

II. Humans Are Bad

III. Humans Are Good

IV. What Difference Does It Make?

Key Terms

End of Chapter Exercise

Notes

7. Morality and Religion

I. Introduction

II. The Origin of the Problem

III. Absolute Good

IV. Divine Command Theory

V. An Ethics with and without Religion

Key Terms

End of Chapter Exercise

Notes

8. Feminist Ethics

I. Introduction

II. Gender: Are Men and Women Different?

III. Care and Justice

IV. Race: What Is Race and Why Is It an Issue?

V. Opportunity and Desert

V. Where Does Feminist Ethics Find a Home in Traditional Theories?

Key Terms

End of Chapter Exercise

Notes

Part II: The Basic Answers

9. It’s All about Your Intuition: Ethical Intuitionism

I. Snapshot

II. The Problem this Theory Addresses

III. The Argument for the Theory

IV. The Argument against the Theory

Key Terms

End of Chapter Exercise

Notes

10. It’s All about Your Attitude: Ethical Non-Cognitivism

I. Snapshot

II. The Problem this Theory Addresses

III. The Argument for the Theory

IV. The Argument against the Theory

Key Terms

End of Chapter Exercise

Notes

11. It’s All about Freely Made Agreements: Ethical Contractarianism

I. Snapshot

II. The Problem this Theory Addresses

III. The Argument for the Theory

IV. The Argument against the Theory

Key Terms

End of Chapter Exercise

Notes

12. It’s all About Your Character: Virtue Ethics

I. Snapshot

II. The Problem this Theory Addresses

III. The Argument for the Theory

IV. The Argument against the Theory

Key Terms

End of Chapter Exercise

Notes

13. It’s all About the Team: Utilitarianism

I. Snapshot

II. The Problem this Theory Addresses

III. The Argument for the Theory

IV. The Argument against the Theory

Key Terms

End of Chapter Exercise

Notes

14. It’s all About Your Duty: Deontology

I. Snapshot

II. The Problem this Theory Addresses

III. The Argument for the Theory

IV. The Argument against the Theory

Key Terms

End of Chapter Exercise

Notes

Part III: Putting it All Together

15. Human Rights

I. Snapshot

II. Supporting Human Rights via Traditional Theories

III. Ethical Realism and Anti-Realism and Human Rights

IV. Ethical Intuitionism and Human Rights

V. Ethical Non-Cognitivism and Human Rights

VI. Ethical Contractarianism and Human Rights

VII. Virtue Ethics and Human Rights

VIII. Utilitarianism and Human Rights

IX. Deontology and Human Rights

Key Terms

End of Chapter Exercise

Notes

16. Formulating Your Own Answers

I. Snapshot

II. The Problem

III. The Topography of Theory Evaluation

IV. How to Choose an Ethical Theory

V. Applying Ethical Theory to Contemporary Social/Political Problems

VI. Applying Ethical Theory to Personal Life Decisions

Key Terms

End of Chapter Exercise

Notes

Glossary

if AI is outside your field, or you know something of the subject and would like to know more then Artificial Intelligence: The Basics is a brilliant primer.' - Nick Smith, Engineering and Technology Magazine November 2011

Artificial Intelligence: The Basics is a concise and cutting-edge introduction to the fast moving world of AI. The author Kevin Warwick, a pioneer in the field, examines issues of what it means to be man or machine and looks at advances in robotics which have blurred the boundaries. Topics covered include:

how intelligence can be defined

whether machines can 'think'

sensory input in machine systems

the nature of consciousness

the controversial culturing of human neurons.

Exploring issues at the heart of the subject, this book is suitable for anyone interested in AI, and provides an illuminating and accessible introduction to this fascinating subject.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1. What is Intelligence? 2. Classical AI 3. Philosophy of AI 4. Modern AI 5. Robotics 6. Sensing the World

This book introduces students and other interested readers to the philosophy of religion—a vibrant and growing field of academic philosophy. Readers will be guided through an exploration of classic and contemporary arguments for and against theism. In addition to this crucial, but standard fare, this book looks to probe deeper into the nature and value (or dis-value) of religion itself. Philosophy of religion is becoming more diverse, both in terms of the religious traditions it examines, and the issues that it addresses. This book reflects that fact, engaging with religious traditions from Quakerism to Jainism. Questions and topics covered include:

What is religion?

What philosophical problems arise for the practices of prayer, worship, and meditation?

How might multiple religions co-exist in peace?

If there’s a God, would it be the sort of thing that language could describe?

When and how might it be rational to wager that a particular religion is true?

With a glossary of key terms and suggestions for further reading, Philosophy of Religion: The Basics is an ideal starting point for anyone seeking a lively and accessible foray into the study of religion or philosophy.

Table of Contents

Introduction

What is Religion?

Religious Language

Arguments for the Existence of God (or something Godlike)

Arguments for Specific Religions

Arguments Against God and Religious Belief

On Religion and Ethics

Religious Rituals and practices

Religion, Pluralism, and the State

Evolution: The Basics is an engaging introduction to the history, development and science of the theory of evolution. Beginning pre-Darwin and concluding with the latest research and controversies, readers are introduced to the origins of the idea of evolution, the ways in which it has developed and been adapted over time and the science underpinning it all. Topics addressed include:

• early theories of evolution

• the impact of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species

• the discovery of genetics and Mendel’s experiments

• molecular evolution and the discovery of DNA

• the expansion of life and the persistence of disease

• revisiting evolutionary ethics and the development of empathy.

Evolution: The Basics examines the role of evolution in current debates and discusses the possible future developments in the field. This book is invaluable reading for all students and individuals seeking to understand the wide ranging sphere of evolutionary theory.

Table of Contents

List of figures Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Darwinian Cosmos 2. The Development of a Theory 3. The Maturation of a Theory 4. Expanding the Modern Synthesis 5. Human Evolution 6. Origins, the Expanion of Life and the Persistance of Disease 7. Humankind's Future: An Evolutionary Perspective. Glossary. Bibliography

Karl Jaspers (1883–1969) was a German psychiatrist and philosopher and one of the most original European thinkers of the twentieth century. As a major exponent of existentialism in Germany, he had a strong influence on modern theology, psychiatry and philosophy. He was Hannah Arendt’s supervisor before her emigration to the United States in the 1930s and himself experienced the consequences of Nazi persecution. He was removed from his position at the University of Heidelberg in 1937, due to his wife being Jewish.

Published in 1949, the year in which the Federal Republic of Germany was founded, The Origin and Goal of History is a vitally important book. It is renowned for Jaspers' theory of an 'Axial Age', running from the 8th to the 3rd century BCE. Jaspers argues that this period witnessed a remarkable flowering of new ways of thinking that appeared in Persia, India, China and the Greco-Roman world, in striking parallel development but without any obvious direct cultural contact between them. Jaspers identifies key thinkers from this age, including Confucius, Buddha, Zarathustra, Homer and Plato, who had a profound influence on the trajectory of future philosophies and religions. For Jaspers, crucially, it is here that we see the flowering of diverse philosophical beliefs such as scepticism, materialism, sophism, nihilism, and debates about good and evil, which taken together demonstrate human beings' shared ability to engage with universal, humanistic questions as opposed to those mired in nationality or authoritarianism.

At a deeper level, The Origin and Goal of History provides a crucial philosophical framework for the liberal renewal of German intellectual life after 1945, and indeed of European intellectual life more widely, as a shattered continent attempted to find answers to what had happened in the preceding years.

This Routledge Classics edition includes a new Foreword by Christopher Thornhill.

Table of Contents

Foreword to the Routledge Classics Edition Christopher Thornhill

Part 1: World History

1. The Axial Period

2. Schema of World History

3. Prehistory

4. The Ancient Historical Civilisations

5. The Axial Period and its Consequences

6. The Specific Quality of the West

7. Orient and Occident: The Eastern and the Western World

8. Once More: A Schema of History

Part 2: Present and Future

9. The Intrinsically New: Science and Technology

10. The Present Situation of the World

11. The Future

Part 3: The Meaning of History

12. Boundaries of History

13. Basic Structures of History

14. The Unity of History

15. Our Modern Historical Consciousness

16. Overcoming History.

Index

Why does art matter to us, and what makes it good? Why is the role of imagination so important in art? Illustrated with carefully chosen colour and black-and-white plates of examples from Michaelangelo to Matisse and Poussin to Pollock, Revealing Art takes us on a compelling and provocative journey.

Kieran explores some of the most important questions we can ask ourselves about art: how can art inspire us or disgust us? Is artistic judgement simply a matter of taste? Can art be immoral or obscene, and should it be censored? He brings such abstract issues to life with fascinating discussions of individual paintings, photographs and sculptures, such as Michelangelo's Pieta, Andres Serrano's Piss Christ and Francis Bacon's powerful paintings of the Pope.

He also suggests some answers to problems that any one in an art gallery or museum is likely to ask themselves: what is a beautiful work of art? and can art really reveal something true about our own nature?

Revealing Art is ideal for anyone interested in debates about art today, or who has simply stood in front of a painting and felt baffled.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1. Is Art Sacred? 2. Beauty Resurrected 3. Revealing Art 4. Art and Morality 5. The Truth in Humanism

Many contemporary Anglo-American philosophers describe themselves as naturalists. But what do they mean by that term? Popular naturalist slogans like, "there is no first philosophy" or "philosophy is continuous with the natural sciences" are far from illuminating. "Understanding Naturalism" provides a clear and readable survey of the main strands in recent naturalist thought. The origin and development of naturalist ideas in epistemology, metaphysics and semantics is explained through the works of Quine, Goldman, Kuhn, Chalmers, Papineau, Millikan and others. The most common objections to the naturalist project - that it involves a change of subject and fails to engage with "real" philosophical problems, that it is self-refuting, and that naturalism cannot deal with normative notions like truth, justification and meaning - are all discussed. "Understanding Naturalism" distinguishes two strands of naturalist thinking - the constructive and the deflationary - and explains how this distinction can invigorate naturalism and the future of philosophical research.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: What do we mean by Natural? 2. First Philosophy 3. Quine and Epistemology Naturalised 4. Reliabilism 5. The Science of Science: Naturalised Philosophy of Science 6. Materialism and Physicalism 7. Naturalism without Physicalism? 8. Naturalism, Meaning and Truth 9. Conclusion: New Directions for Naturalism Questions for Discussion and Revision Further Reading

‘Philosophy: The Basics deservedly remains the most recommended introduction to philosophy on the market. Warburton is patient, accurate and, above all, clear. There is no better short introduction to philosophy.’ - Stephen Law, author of The Philosophy Gym

Philosophy: The Basics gently eases the reader into the world of philosophy. Each chapter considers a key area of philosophy, explaining and exploring the basic ideas and themes including:

Can you prove God exists?

How do we know right from wrong?

What are the limits of free speech?

Do you know how science works?

Is your mind different from your body?

Can you define art?

How should we treat non-human animals?

For the fifth edition of this best-selling book, Nigel Warburton has added an entirely new chapter on animals, revised others and brought the further reading sections up to date. If you’ve ever asked ‘what is philosophy?’, or wondered whether the world is really the way you think it is, this is the book for you.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1. God 2. Right and Wrong 3. Animals 4. Politics 5. Appearance and Reality 6. Science 7. Mind 8. Art Index

American Philosophy: The Basics introduces the history of American thought from early Calvinists to the New England Transcendentalists and from contract theory to contemporary African American philosophy. The key question it asks is: what it is that makes American Philosophy unique? This lively and compelling book moves through key periods in the development of American thought from the founding fathers to the transcendentalists and pragmatists to contemporary social commentators. Readers are introduced to:

Some of the most important thinkers in American history including Jonathan Edwards, Thomas Paine, Charles Sanders Pierce, Thomas Kuhn, Cornel West and many more

Developments in five key areas of thought: epistemology, metaphysics, religion and ethics, social philosophy, and political philosophy

The contributions of American women, African-Americans and Native Americans.

Featuring suggestions for further reading and assuming no prior knowledge of philosophy, this is an ideal first introduction for anyone studying or interested in the history of American thought.

Table of Contents

Preface 1. Introduction 2. The Genesis of Euro-American Philosophy 3. The Enlightenment Revolutionaries 4. Beyond the Enlightenment Revolutionaries 5. New England Transcendentalism and the Continuing Spirit of Reform 6. The Pragmatists 7. Part I Recent Developments in American Philosophy 8. Part II Recent Developments in American Philosophy Glossary

Every theory of imagination must satisfy two requirements. It must account for the spontaneous discrimination that the mind makes between its images and its perceptions, and it must explain the role that the image plays in the operation of thought. Whatever form it has taken, the classical conception of the image could not fulfil these two essential tasks.' —Jean-Paul Sartre

Jean-Paul Sartre's L’Imagination was published in 1936 when he was thirty years old. The Imagination is Sartre’s first full philosophical work, presenting some of the basic arguments concerning phenomenology, consciousness, and intentionality that were to mark his philosophy as a whole and be so influential in the course of twentieth-century philosophy.

Sartre begins by criticising philosophical theories of the imagination, particularly those of Descartes, Leibniz, and Hume, before establishing his central thesis. Imagination does not involve the perception of ‘mental images’ in any literal sense, Sartre argues, yet reveals some of the fundamental capacities of consciousness. He then reviews psychological theories of the imagination, including a fascinating discussion of the work of Henri Bergson.

Sartre argues that the ‘classical conception’ is fundamentally flawed because it begins by conceiving of the imagination as being like perception and then seeks, in vain, to re-establish the difference between the two. Sartre concludes with an important chapter on Husserl’s theory of the imagination which, despite sharing the flaws of earlier approaches, signals a new phenomenological way forward in understanding the imagination.

The Imagination is essential reading for anyone interested in the philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre, phenomenology, and the history of twentieth-century philosophy. The translation has been revised throughout for this Routledge Classics edition. There is also a revised Translators’ Introduction and a new Foreword, both by Kenneth Williford and David Rudrauf. Also included is Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s important review of L’Imagination upon its publication in French in 1936.

Translated by Kenneth Williford and David Rudrauf.

Table of Contents

Foreword to the Routledge Classics Edition Kenneth Williford and David Rudrauf

Translators' Introduction to the Routledge Classics Edition Kenneth Williford and David Rudrauf

Introduction

1. The Great Metaphysical Systems

2. The Problem of the Image and the Effort of Psychologists to Find a Positive Method

3. The Contradictions of the Classical Conception

4. Husserl

Conclusion.

Review of L'Imagination by Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1936)

Bibliography

Index

"The philosophy of mathematics will naturally be expected to deal with questions at the frontier of knowledge, as to which comparative certainty is not yet attained. But separation of such questions is hardly likely to be fruitful unless the more scientific parts of mathematics are known. A book dealing with those parts may, therefore, claim to be an introduction to mathematical philosophy..." - Bertrand Russell, from the Preface

First published in 1919, Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy shows Russell drawing on his formidable knowledge of philosophy and mathematics to write a brilliant introduction to the subject. Russell explains that mathematics can be approached in two distinct directions: one that is driven by a mechanical kind of simplicity and builds towards complexity, from integers to fractions and real numbers to complex ones; and one that searches for abstractness and logical simplicity by asking what general principles underlie mathematics.

From here Russell introduces and explains, in his customary pellucid prose, the definition of numbers, finitude, correlation and relation, mathematical limits, infinity, propositional descriptions and classes. Russell concludes with a fascinating summary of the relationship between mathematics and logic, of which he states "logic is the youth of mathematics."

This Routledge Classics edition includes a new Foreword by Michael Potter.

Table of Contents

Foreword to the Routledge Classics Edition Michael Potter

Preface

1. The Series of Natural Numbers

2. Definition of Number

3. Finitude and Mathematical Induction

4. The Definition of Order

5. Kinds of Relations

6. Similarity of Relations

7. Rational, Real, and Complex Numbers

8. Infinite Cardinal Numbers

9. Infinite Series and Ordinals

10. Limits and Continuity

11. Limits and Continuity of Functions

12. Selections and the Multiplicative Axiom

13. The Axiom of Infinity and Logical Types

14. Incompatibility and the Theory of Deduction

15. Propositional Functions

16. Descriptions

17. Classes

18. Mathematics and Logic.

Index

Philosophy of the Arts presents a comprehensive and accessible introduction to those coming to aesthetics and the philosophy of art for the first time. The third edition is greatly enhanced by new sections on art and beauty, modern art, Aristotle and katharsis, and Hegel. Each chapter has been thoroughly revised with fresh material and extended discussions. As with previous editions, the book:

is jargon-free and will appeal to students of music, art history and literature as well as philosophy

looks at a wide range of the arts from film, painting and architecture to fiction, music and poetry

discusses a range of philosophical theories of thinkers such as Hume, Kant, Gaender, Collingwood, Derrida, Hegel and Croce

contains regular summaries and suggestions for further reading.

Table of Contents

Chapter One Art and Pleasure Hume on taste and tragedy – Collingwood on art as amusement – Mill on higher and lower pleasures – the nature of pleasure Chapter Two Art and Beauty Beauty and pleasure – Kant on beauty -- the aesthetic attitude and the sublime – art and the aesthetic -- Gadamer and art as play – art and sport – summary Chapter Three Art and Emotion Tolstoy and everyday expressivism – Aristotle and katharsis -- expression and imagination -- Croce and 'intuition' -- Collingwood's expressivism - expression versus expressiveness – summary Chapter Four Art and Understanding Hegel, art and mind – art, science and knowledge - aesthetic cognitivism, for and against - imagination and experience - the objects of imagination - art and the world - understanding as a norm – art and human nature -- summary Chapter Five Music and Sonic Art Music and pleasure - music and emotion - music as language - music and representation - musical vocabulary and musical grammar - the uniqueness of music - music and beauty - music as the exploration of sound – sonic art and digital technology – summary Chapter Six The Visual Arts What is representation? - representation and artistic value - art and the visual - visual art and the non-visual - film as art - montage versus longshot - talkies - the 'auteur' in film - summary Chapter Seven The Literary Arts Poetry and prose -- the unity of form and content - figures of speech - expressive language - poetic devices - narrative and fiction - literature and understanding - summary Chapter Eight The Performing Arts Artist, audience and performer – painting as the paradigm of art – Nietzsche and The Birth of Tragedy – performance and participation – the art of the actor -- summary Chapter Nine Architecture as an Art The peculiarities of architecture - form and function and ‘the decorated shed’ - façade, deception and the 'Zeitgeist' - functionalism - formalism and 'space' – resumé --architectural expression -- architecture

Phenomenology: The Basics is a concise and engaging introduction to one of the important philosophical movements of the twentieth century and to a subject that continues to grow and diversify. Yet it is also a challenging subject, the elements of which can be hard to grasp.

This lucid book provides an introduction to the core ideas of phenomenology and to the arguments of its principal thinkers, including Husserl, Heidegger, and Merleau-Ponty. Written by a leading expert in the field, Dan Zahavi examines and explains key questions such as:

What is a phenomenological analysis?

What are the methodological foundations of phenomenology?

What does phenomenology have to say about intentionality, embodiment, intersubjectivity, and the lifeworld?

How do ideas from classic phenomenology relate to ongoing debates in qualitative research and the cognitive sciences?

This second edition has been thoroughly revised and expanded. It contains a new chapter on critical phenomenology and updated discussions of the application of phenomenology in psychiatry, psychology, and qualitative research.

Including a glossary of key terms and suggestions for further reading, Phenomenology: The Basics is a superb starting point for anyone seeking a concise and accessible introduction to this rich and fascinating subject.

Table of Contents

Preface to the second edition

Introduction

Part I: Foundational issues

1. The phenomena

2. Intentionality

3. Methodological considerations

4. Science and the lifeworld

5. Digging deeper: From surface to depth phenomenology

6. Merleau-Ponty’s preface to Phenomenology of Perception

Part II: Concrete analyses

7. Spatiality and embodiment

8. Intersubjectivity and sociality

9. Critical and political phenomenology

Part III: Applied phenomenology

10. Classical applications: Psychology, psychiatry, sociology

11. Current debates in qualitative research and the cognitive sciences

12. A method, an attitude, a theoretical framework

Conclusion

Glossary

References

Index

Bioethics: The Basics is an introduction to the foundational principles, theories and issues in the study of medical and biological ethics. Readers are introduced to bioethics from the ground up before being invited to consider some of the most controversial but important questions facing us today. Topics addressed include:

the range of moral theories underpinning bioethics

arguments for the rights and wrongs of abortion, euthanasia and animal research

health care ethics including the nature of the practitioner-patient relationship

public policy ethics and the implications of global and public health

‘3 parents’, enhancement, incidental findings and nudge approaches in health care.

This thoroughly revised second edition provides a concise, readable and authoritative introduction for anyone interested in the study of bioethics.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS

Preface

Abbreviations

1 What is bioethics?

What is bioethics?

History

What about the law?

Methods

Applications

How to use this book

Resources and further reading

2 Moral theories

Introduction

Counting the consequences

Doing one’s duty

Being a good person – virtue ethics

Brotherhood and sisterhood – communitarianism

Live free or die – libertarianism

A balancing act – the four principles

Resources and further reading

Exercise

3 Perspectives

Introduction

Gendered agendas – feminist approaches

To care or not to care?

Culture and religion

Conclusion

Resources and further reading

Exercises

4 Clinical ethics

Introduction

The clinical relationship – a conspiracy against the laity?

Life before birth

Transplantation and regenerative medicine

Mental health

The end of life

After death

Conclusions

Resources and further reading

Exercises

5 Research

Introduction

Research ethics

Research integrity

Research and the future

Conclusion

Resources and further reading

Exercises

6 Justice

Introduction

Public health ethics

Fair access and the paradox of health care

Global inequity in health

Global survival

Resources and further reading

Exercises

Appendix

Glossary

References

Index

An Essay on the Foundations of Geometry was first published in 1897 when Bertrand Russell was 25 years old. It marks his first major foray into analytic philosophy, a movement in which Russell is one of the founding members and figurehead. It provides a brilliant insight into Russell's early philosophical thought and an engaging and authoritative introduction to the philosophical and logical foundations of geometry - a version of which was fundamental to Einstein's theory of relativity.

Russell explores and introduces the concepts of geometry and their philosophical implications, including a historical overview of geometrical theory, making it an invaluable resource not only for students of philosophy but anyone interested in the origins of the thought of one of the twentieth century's most important and widely-read philosophers.

This Routledge Classics edition includes a new Foreword by Michael Potter.

Table of Contents

Foreword to the Routledge Classics Edition Michael Potter

Preface

Introduction: Our Problem Defined by its Relations to Logic, Psychology and Mathematics

1. A Short History of Metageometry

2. Critical Account of Some Previous Philosophical Theories of Geometry

3. The Axioms of Projective Geometry and The Axioms of Metrical Geometry

4. Philosophical Consequences.

Index