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.

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

This handbook is a thorough and state of the art overview of a central and fast-growing topic making it the ideal reference source for both students and scholars Essential reading for students and researchers in political philosophy, bioethics, public health ethics, or philosophy of medicine. The handbook will also be very useful for those in related fields, such as medicine and public health This is the only handbook to pull together a thoroughly comprehensive overview of the topic of the philosophy of public health. This handbook will help the field of study organise itself into a proper subject: it will be a rallying point for any student and researcher interested in the subject All chapters are specially commissioned, written by an international team of renowned contributors.

Philosophy of Medicine asks two central questions about medicine: what is it, and what should we think of it? Philosophy of medicine itself has evolved in response to developments in the philosophy of science, especially with regard to epistemology, positioning it to make contributions that are medically useful. This book locates these developments within a larger framework, suggesting that much philosophical thinking about medicine contributes to answering one or both of these two guiding questions. Taking stock of philosophy of medicine's present place in the landscape and its potential to illuminate a wide range of areas, from public health to policy, Alex Broadbent introduces various key topics in the philosophy of medicine. The first part of the book argues for a novel view of the nature of medicine, arguing that medicine should be understood as an inquiry into the nature and causes of health and disease. Medicine excels at achieving understanding, but not at translating this understanding into cure, a frustration that has dogged the history of medicine and continues to the present day. The second part of the book explores how we ought to consider medicine. Contemporary responses, such as evidence-based medicine and medical nihilism, tend to respond by fixing high standards of evidence. Broadbent rejects these approaches in favor of Medical Cosmopolitanism, or a rejection of epistemic relativism and pluralism about medicine that encourages conversations between medical traditions. From this standpoint, Broadbent opens the way to embracing alternative medicine. An accessible and user-friendly guide, Philosophy of Medicine puts these different debates into perspective and identifies areas that demand further exploration.

Philosophy of Medicine asks two central questions about medicine: what is it, and what should we think of it? Philosophy of medicine itself has evolved in response to developments in the philosophy of science, especially with regard to epistemology, positioning it to make contributions that are medically useful. This book locates these developments within a larger framework, suggesting that much philosophical thinking about medicine contributes to answering one or both of these two guiding questions. Taking stock of philosophy of medicine's present place in the landscape and its potential to illuminate a wide range of areas, from public health to policy, Alex Broadbent introduces various key topics in the philosophy of medicine. The first part of the book argues for a novel view of the nature of medicine, arguing that medicine should be understood as an inquiry into the nature and causes of health and disease. Medicine excels at achieving understanding, but not at translating this understanding into cure, a frustration that has dogged the history of medicine and continues to the present day. The second part of the book explores how we ought to consider medicine. Contemporary responses, such as evidence-based medicine and medical nihilism, tend to respond by fixing high standards of evidence. Broadbent rejects these approaches in favor of Medical Cosmopolitanism, or a rejection of epistemic relativism and pluralism about medicine that encourages conversations between medical traditions. From this standpoint, Broadbent opens the way to embracing alternative medicine. An accessible and user-friendly guide, Philosophy of Medicine puts these different debates into perspective and identifies areas that demand further exploration.