| Preface to the Sixth Edition | p. xi |
| A Note to Students | p. xiii |
| Recognizing Philosophical Subject Matter | p. 1 |
| Philosophical Problems Involve Fundamental Ideas | p. 3 |
| Philosophical Problems Involve Questions of Meaning, Truth (Rational Defensibility), and Logical Relations | p. 4 |
| Philosophical Problems Are Not Straightfowardly Empirical | p. 9 |
| Two Case Studies | p. 12 |
| Taking Your First Philosophy Course | p. 14 |
| Study Questions | p. 18 |
| Postscript: Divisions of Philosophy | p. 18 |
| Why Philosophize? | p. 20 |
| How Philosophers See Their Goals | p. 20 |
| The Relevance of Philosophy | p. 29 |
| The Lure of Philosophical Issues | p. 31 |
| Postscript: Are Gurus Philosophers? | p. 34 |
| Philosophical Progress: Clearing Up Some Misconceptions | p. 36 |
| Philosophy Is Not Merely an Exercise in Semantics | p. 36 |
| The Choice Between Competing Theories Is Not Arbitrary | p. 37 |
| Philosophers Do Agree | p. 38 |
| Philosophical Theories Are Not Merely Rationalizations of Personal Belief | p. 40 |
| Why Be Rational? | p. 42 |
| Postscript: The Cultural Matrix of Reason | p. 44 |
| Doing Philosophy: Getting Started | p. 46 |
| Preparing to Philosophize | p. 47 |
| What Kind of Claim Is Advanced? | p. 48 |
| The Claims: A Summary | p. 52 |
| Exercises | p. 54 |
| What Is the Meaning of Key Terms? | p. 55 |
| Exercises | p. 60 |
| Doing Philosophy: Further Considerations | p. 61 |
| Do the Arguments Support the Thesis? | p. 61 |
| Exercises | p. 67 |
| Are the Premises True? | p. 68 |
| Are the Assumptions Correct? | p. 68 |
| Exercises | p. 71 |
| Are the Logical Consequences Plausible? | p. 72 |
| Exercises | p. 75 |
| How Adequate Is the Theory? | p. 75 |
| Exercises | p. 78 |
| An Example of Philosophical Analysis: Near-Death Experience | p. 78 |
| An Example of Philosophical Analysis: Equality of Opportunity | p. 81 |
| Common Fallacies in Argument | p. 83 |
| Question-Begging Arguments | p. 83 |
| False Alternative | p. 85 |
| False Disjunct | p. 85 |
| Ad Hominem Fallacy | p. 86 |
| Genetic Fallacy | p. 87 |
| Red Herring Fallacy | p. 87 |
| Straw Man | p. 88 |
| Slippery Slope | p. 88 |
| Appeal to Tradition | p. 89 |
| Bandwagon | p. 89 |
| Composition | p. 90 |
| Division | p. 90 |
| Hasty Generalization | p. 91 |
| Appeal to Ignorance | p. 91 |
| False Cause | p. 91 |
| Equivocation | p. 92 |
| Illicit Appeal to Authority | p. 92 |
| A Final Checklist | p. 93 |
| Exercises | p. 93 |
| Reading Philosophy | p. 95 |
| Kinds of Philosophical Writings | p. 95 |
| Preparing to Read Philosophy | p. 97 |
| Reading for Understanding | p. 98 |
| Reading Critically | p. 105 |
| Writing Philosophy | p. 106 |
| The Nature of a Critical Philosophy Essay | p. 106 |
| Organizing Your Essay | p. 108 |
| Achieving Clarity | p. 111 |
| A Sample Essay | p. 115 |
| Postscript: A Note on Research Materials | p. 122 |
| Answers to Exercises | p. 124 |
| Appendix | p. 132 |
| Glossary | p. 149 |
| Index | p. 163 |
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