Table of Contents

Introduction. What Philosophy is About - How Philosophy Works - The Study of Philosophy - Types of Philosopher - Why Are There No Great Women Philosophers? - How to be a Great Philosopher - Be a True Philosopher! - The Benefits of Philosophy - Learning the Core of Philosophy - The Omnicompetence of Philosophy - Philosophy as a Western Phenomenon. Part One - The Development of Philosophy
1: Early Greek Philosophy. Why Philosophy Arose Among The Greeks - Thales - Anaximander - Anaximenes - Pythagoras - Heracleitus - Parmenides - Zeno's Paradoxes - Empedocles - Democritus - The Achievements of the Early Greek Philosophers - The Nature of Early Greek Speculation.
2: Classical Greek Philosophy. Socrates - The Trial of Socrates - Plato -The Republic - Plato's Dialogues - Aristotle - Organon - Metaphysics - Ethics - The Development of Schools of Philosophy - The Stoics - Epicurus - The Schools of Philosophy in Later Antiquity - Learned Women in Antiquity
3: Medieval Philosophy. The Christian Theologians - Augustine - The Revival of Philosophy and Learning - Aquinas - Duns Scotus - Arguments of the Existence of God - The Onset of the Renaissance
4: 17th Century Philosophy. Bacon - Empiricism and Rationalism - Descartes - Spinoza - Leibniz - The Origins of English Empiricism - Hobbes - Locke.
5: 18th Century Philosophy. Berkeley - The Scottish Enlightenment - Hume - Adam Smith - Thomas Reid - Kant - The French Enlightenment.
6: 19th Century Philosophy. Fichte - Schelling - Hegel - Schopenhauer - Nietzsche - Kierkegaard - Marx - Mill - James - British Hegelian Philosophy
7: 20th Century Philosophy. G.E. Moore - Bertrand Russell - Wittgenstein - Heidegger - Sartre - Popper - Quine - Rorty - Derrida.
Part Two - Philosophical Subjects
1: Core Subjects. Epistemology - Ontology - Metaphysics - Logic - Ethics - Aesthetics.
2: Peripheral Subjects: Philosophy of Science - Philosophy of Psychology - Political Philosophy - Philosophy of Religion - Philosophy of History - Philosophy of Language - Philosophy of Literature.
3: 20th Century Movements: Idealism - Phenomenology - Pragmatism - Analytical Philosophy - Scientism - Existentialism - Postmodernism.
Part Three - Philosophical Problems
Reality - Knowledge - Causation - Induction - Facts and Values - Personal Identity - Mind and Body - Freewill - Time - Truth - What Are We Here For?
References & Bibliography

About the Author

Dr. Alistair J. Sinclair is an independent philosopher living in Glasgow. For many years, he taught philosophy courses for adult learners in the University of Strathclyde’s Continuing Education programme.

Reviews

'Overall, What is Philosophy? is a clear, useful, and welcoming introduction to philosophy. Sinclair's love and admiration for the discipline and the potential of philosophy to benefit the world are obvious. To the degree that feelings of the author influence readers, the future of philosophy may be the resolution of entrenched philosophical arguments and the emergence of the discipline as a direct public benefactor.' Teaching Philosophy