Table of Contents

*=NEW TO THIS EDITION; Preface; PART I: PHILOSOPHY; Introduction: On the Study of Philosophy; Bertrand Russell, The Value of Philosophy; Plato, Apology: Defence of Socrates; PART II: GOD AND EVIL; Introduction; A. WHY BELIEVE?; Saint Anselm, The Ontological Argument; Saint Thomas Aquinas, The Existence of God; William Paley, Natural Theology; Blaise Pascal, The Wager; Bertrand Russell, Why I Am Not a Christian; B. THE PROBLEM OF EVIL; David Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion; Gottfried Leibniz, God, Evil and the Best of All Possible Worlds; John Perry, A Dialogue on Good, Evil, and the Existence of God; PART III: KNOWLEDGE AND REALITY; Introduction; A. PLATO AND THE CONCEPT OF KNOWLEDGE; Plato, Thaetetus; Edmund L. Gettier, Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?; B. DESCARTES AND THE PROBLEMS OF SKEPTICISM; Rene Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy; Christopher Grau, Bad Dreams, Evil Demons, and the Experience Machine: Philosophy and The Matrix; Robert Nozick, Excerpt from Philosophical Explanations; C. HUME'S PROBLEMS AND SOME SOLUTIONS; David Hume, Of Scepticism with Regard to the Senses; David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding; W. C. Salmon, The Problem of Induction; PART IV: MINDS, BODIES, AND PERSONS; Introduction; A. THE TRADITIONAL PROBLEM OF MIND AND BODY; Bertrand Russell, The Argument from Analogy for Other Minds; Gilbert Ryle, Descartes's Myth; David M. Armstrong, The Nature of Mind; Daniel Dennett, Intentional Systems; Paul M. Churchland, Eliminative Materialism; B. MINDS, BRAINS, AND MACHINES; A. M. Turing, Computing Machinery and Intelligence; John R. Searle, Minds, Brains, and Programs; C. CONSCIOUSNESS; Thomas Nagel, What Is It Like to Be a Bat?; Frank Jackson, What Mary Didn't Know; David Lewis, Knowing What It's Like; D. PERSONAL IDENTITY; John Perry, A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality; Bernard Williams, The Self and the Future; Derek Parfit, Personal Identity; * J. David Velleman, So It Goes; Daniel Dennett, Where Am I?; E. FREEDOM, DETERMINISM, AND RESPONSIBILITY; Roderick M. Chisholm, Human Freedom and the Self; Peter van Inwagen, The Powers of Rational Beings: Freedom of the Will; David Hume, Of Liberty and Necessity; Harry G. Frankfurt, Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility; Harry G. Frankfurt, Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person; * Thomas Nagel, Moral Luck; PART V: ETHICS AND SOCIETY; Introduction; A. UTILITARIANISM; Jeremy Bentham, The Principle of Utility; John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism; E. F. Carritt, Criticisms of Utilitarianism; J. J. C. Smart, Extreme and Restricted Utilitarianism; Bernard Williams, Utilitarianism and Integrity; Peter Singer, Famine, Affluence, and Morality; B. KANTIAN ETHICS; Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals; * David Velleman, A Brief Introduction to Kantian Ethics; Onora O'Neill, Kantian Approaches to Some Famine Problems; Thomas Nagel, War and Massacre; C. ARISTOTELIAN ETHICS; Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics; Thomas Nagel, Aristotle on Eudaimonia; D. JUSTICE AND EQUALITY; John Rawls, A Theory of Justice; Robert Nozick, Justice and Entitlement; G. A. Cohen, Where the Action Is: On the Site of Distributive Justice; John Stuart Mill, The Subjection of Women; Debra Satz, Markets in Women's Reproductive Labor; Kwame Anthony Appiah, Racisms; E. CHALLENGES TO MORALITY; 1. MORALITY AND SELF-INTEREST; Plato, The Republic; David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals; David Gauthier, Morality and Advantage; J. L. Mackie, The Law of the Jungle: Moral Alternatives and Principles of Evolution; 2. SUBJECTIVISM, RELATIVISM, AND SKEPTICISM; J. L. Mackie, The Subjectivity of Values; Gilbert Harman, Ethics and Observation; Nicholas L. Sturgeon, Moral Explanations; PART VI: EXISTENTIAL ISSUES; * Susan Wolf, Moral Saints; Thomas Nagel, The Absurd; Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus; Richard Taylor, The Meaning of Human Existence; Susan Wolf, The Meanings of Lives; * Thomas Nagel, Death; PART VII: PUZZLES AND PARADOXES; Introduction; A. ZENO'S PARADOXES; Achilles and the Tortoise; The Racecourse; The Argument Against Plurality; B. METAPHYSICAL AND EPISTEMOLOGICAL PUZZLES AND PARADOXES; The Paradox of Identity; The Paradox of the Heap; The Surprise Examination; Goodman's New Riddle of Induction; C. PUZZLES OF RATIONAL CHOICE; The Prisoner's Dilemma; Newcomb's Problem; Kavka's Toxin Puzzle; Quinn's Puzzle of the Self-Torturer; D. PARADOXES OF LOGIC, SET THEORY, AND SEMANTICS; The Paradox of the Liar; Other Versions of the Liar; Russell's Paradox; Grelling's Paradox; E. PUZZLES OF ETHICS; The Trolley Problem; Ducking Harm and Sacrificing Others; Glossary

Reviews

"This is a terrific anthology, just the kind I like to teach from. It covers all the Big Questions that turn people on to philosophy, with a selection of classic and contemporary readings that are clear and accessible while also being challenging and provocative."--Susan Wolf, University of North Carolina"This is a superb introduction to philosophy, the best I know. It combines the best of classic and contemporary texts, organized around philosophical problems in a provocative and lively way. The editors supply first-rate introductions, and the book as a whole conveys the excitement of thinking about philosophical problems in a way that is fully accessible to a first-year student."--Martha Nussbaum, University of Chicago"This book is a real gem. It combines the de rigueur historical texts with the cream of the contemporary articles that continue work on all the classic problems of philosophy. It is the best available text for introductory courses. As a bonus, the authors have included a section on puzzles and paradoxes, and there is also a glossary of technical terms. My next introductory course text will be Perry-Bratman-Fischer."--Anthony Brueckner, University of California, Santa Barbara"This splendid anthology features exceptionally well-chosen readings on philosophical issues that are both captivating and central to the field. In combination with the impressively-crafted chapter introductions, these readings provide just the right material for an intensive, state-of-the-art, beginning course in the area."--Derk Pereboom, Cornell University"A comprehensive collection of classic and modern contributions to the enduring problems of philosophy. The essays are well chosen and edited; an introductory text without peer."--Jules Coleman, Yale Law School"The editors are a trio of superb philosophers with more than 100 years of teaching experience among them. Their experience shines through in the selection of readings, the introductions (to the volume and to the six main parts of the book), and the study questions. This is the best anthology I have ever seen for an introductory philosophy course."--Alfred R. Mele, Florida State University"This collection does a marvelous job of introducing students to philosophy. It contains an excellent selection of texts--a menu rich in options for constructing a wide range of courses. Each section begins with a very helpful summary of the main issues at stake in that section. These summaries are guides, not only to the texts themselves, but also to how to think about problems philosophically. It would be hard for a student to read them without being sucked into the philosophical debates. The paradoxes and puzzles at the end of the book are a terrific addition. And I have never seen a better glossary: for each entry there is, not a definition, but a concise discussion of the issues associated with the term. . . . [A] truly exemplary introduction to philosophy."--Sarah Buss, University of Michigan"The best introduction to philosophy anthology available. . . . The previous edition was the single best anthology on the market; I have been using it happily for over a decade, and believe that with the new readings it is even better. I think the book is excellent and will be using it as soon as I can."--Thomas Ryckman, Lawrence University"The strength of the book is its comprehensiveness. If you're only going to use one book in an introductory course, it should be this one."--Brian Weatherson, Cornell University"These are the best chapter introductions I have seen in any introductory collection. The writing is pitched at just the right level of complexity, but more importantly, the ideas are high quality. . . . The book manages to be interesting and genuinely illuminating (even to me), but remains understandable to the first-year student."--Thomas Bittner, University of British Columbia