| |
| |
| Preface | |
| |
| |
| A Note to Instructors | |
| |
| |
| Acknowledgments | |
| |
| |
| Introduction: What Is Philosophy? | |
| |
| |
| The Nature of Philosophy | |
| |
| |
| The Subject Matter of Philosophy | |
| |
| |
| The Divisions of Philosophy | |
| |
| |
| Historical Periods of Philosophy | |
| |
| |
| The Method of Philosophy | |
| |
| |
| The Elements of Critical Thinking | |
| |
| |
| The Value of Philosophy | |
| |
| |
| The Structure of This Text | |
| |
| |
| Units | |
| |
| |
| Worldviews | |
| |
| |
| The tcapp Website | |
| |
| |
| Notes | |
| |
| |
| |
| What Is an Argument? | |
| |
| |
| Arguments | |
| |
| |
| The Need For Arguments in Philosophy | |
| |
| |
| Arguments in General | |
| |
| |
| Inductive and Deductive Arguments | |
| |
| |
| Analyzing Deductive Arguments | |
| |
| |
| Types of Inductive Arguments | |
| |
| |
| Rules for Evaluating Inductive Arguments | |
| |
| |
| Judging the Adequacy of Theories | |
| |
| |
| Universality | |
| |
| |
| Consistency | |
| |
| |
| Simplicity | |
| |
| |
| Creative Thinking | |
| |
| |
| Summary | |
| |
| |
| Critical Thinking | |
| |
| |
| Types of Arguments | |
| |
| |
| Notes | |
| |
| |
| |
| Is It Reasonable to Believe That God Exists? | |
| |
| |
| Introduction: Philosophy and Religion | |
| |
| |
| |
| Basic Beliefs | |
| |
| |
| The Concept of God | |
| |
| |
| Examining Implications | |
| |
| |
| Two Concepts of God | |
| |
| |
| The Functional Concept of God | |
| |
| |
| God and Worldviews | |
| |
| |
| |
| The Problem | |
| |
| |
| Possible Solutions | |
| |
| |
| |
| Facts and Assumptions | |
| |
| |
| Facts | |
| |
| |
| Judging the Reliability of Facts | |
| |
| |
| The Insufficiency of Facts in Philosophy | |
| |
| |
| Assumptions | |
| |
| |
| Points of View | |
| |
| |
| |
| Arguments | |
| |
| |
| Strong Theism | |
| |
| |
| The Cosmological Argument | |
| |
| |
| Science and The Origin of the Universe | |
| |
| |
| The Design Argument | |
| |
| |
| Religious Experience | |
| |
| |
| Miracles | |
| |
| |
| Strong Atheism | |
| |
| |
| Science and Religion | |
| |
| |
| The Problem of Evil | |
| |
| |
| Agnosticism and Fideism | |
| |
| |
| William James on Agnosticism and Fideism | |
| |
| |
| Religion as Myth | |
| |
| |
| Literal and Metaphorical Meanings | |
| |
| |
| The Mythical Origins of Religion | |
| |
| |
| Religion and Personal Growth | |
| |
| |
| The Common Story of Various Religions | |
| |
| |
| |
| Evaluation | |
| |
| |
| Strong Theism and Strong Atheism | |
| |
| |
| Agnosticism | |
| |
| |
| Fideism | |
| |
| |
| Religion as Myth | |
| |
| |
| Notes | |
| |
| |
| |
| What Can I Know? | |
| |
| |
| Introduction: Reliable Knowledge | |
| |
| |
| |
| Basic Beliefs | |
| |
| |
| The Definition of 'Knowledge' | |
| |
| |
| Knowing How and Knowing That | |
| |
| |
| Propositional Knowledge | |
| |
| |
| Knowledge Requires Belief | |
| |
| |
| Knowledge Requires Truth | |
| |
| |
| Knowledge Requires Justification | |
| |
| |
| Knowledge and Worldviews | |
| |
| |
| |
| The Problem | |
| |
| |
| The Origin, Extent, and Justification of Knowledge | |
| |
| |
| Possible Solutions | |
| |
| |
| Empiricism and Rationalism | |
| |
| |
| The Philosophy of Kant | |
| |
| |
| Pragmatism | |
| |
| |
| The Scientific Method | |
| |
| |
| Naive Realism | |
| |
| |
| |
| Facts and Assumptions | |
| |
| |
| Facts | |
| |
| |
| Hallucinations and Illusions | |
| |
| |
| Scientific Facts About Sensation and Perception | |
| |
| |
| Perception Requires Sensation and Concepts | |
| |
| |
| Perception Requires Belief | |
| |
| |
| Perception as Representation | |
| |
| |
| Assumptions | |
| |
| |
| The Egocentric Predicament | |
| |
| |
| Biases and Points of View | |
| |
| |
| |
| Arguments | |
| |
| |
| Descartes and Rationalism | |
| |
| |
| The Method of Mathematics: The Search for Axioms | |
| |
| |
| The Method of Doubt: Dreams and the Evil Genius | |
| |
| |
| I Think, Therefore I Am | |
| |
| |
| The Existence of the World | |
| |
| |
| Descartes's Epistemology | |
| |
| |
| The Justification of Knowledge | |
| |
| |
| The Origin of Knowledge | |
| |
| |
| The Extent of Knowledge | |
| |
| |
| Locke and Empiricism | |
| |
| |
| The Origin of Knowledge | |
| |
| |
| The Justification of Knowledge | |
| |
| |
| The Extent of Knowledge | |
| |
| |
| Berkeley and Idealism | |
| |
| |
| The Extent of Knowledge | |
| |
| |
| Hume and Skepticism | |
| |
| |
| The Origins of Knowledge | |
| |
| |
| The Justification of Knowledge | |
| |
| |
| The Extent of Knowledge | |
| |
| |
| The Things We Cannot Know | |
| |
| |
| The Things We Can Know | |
| |
| |
| Kant's Revolution | |
| |
| |
| Kant and Hume | |
| |
| |
| Synthetic A Priori Statements | |
| |
| |
| The "Copernican Revolution" | |
| |
| |
| Innate Mechanisms of the Mind | |
| |
| |
| The Universal and Necessary Conditions of Experience | |
| |
| |
| Noumena and Phenomena | |
| |
| |
| The Transcendental Deduction | |
| |
| |
| Kant's Epistemology | |
| |
| |
| |
| Evaluation | |
| |
| |
| Descartes | |
| |
| |
| The British Empiricists | |
| |
| |
| Kant | |
| |
| |
| Pragmatism | |
| |
| |
| Scientific Realism | |
| |
| |
| Final Suggestions | |
| |
| |
| Notes | |
| |
| |
| |
| What Is Real? | |
| |
| |
| Introduction: The Nature of Metaphysics | |
| |
| |
| |
| Basic Beliefs | |
| |
| |
| Our Commonsense Concept of Reality | |
| |
| |
| The Concept of Space | |
| |
| |
| The Concept of Time | |
| |
| |
| Reality and Worldviews | |
| |
| |
| |
| The Problem | |
| |
| |
| Possible Solutions | |
| |
| |
| |
| Facts and Assumptions | |
| |
| |
| Facts | |
| |
| |
| Assumptions | |
| |
| |
| Biases | |
| |
| |
| |
| Arguments | |
| |
| |
| Commonsense Realism | |
| |
| |
| The "Phone Call" Argument | |
| |
| |
| The Linguistic Arguments | |
| |
| |
| Scientific Realism | |
| |
| |
| Various Types of Sciences | |
| |
| |
| Reductionism in Science | |
| |
| |
| Reality as an Ideal | |
| |
| |
| Conceptual Frameworks | |
| |
| |
| The Critique of Commonsense Realism | |
| |
| |
| Rejection of the "Epistemological Dependency" Argument | |
| |
| |
| The Commonsense World as Appearances | |
| |
| |
| Sciences as a Superior Way of Knowing | |
| |
| |
| The Limits of Commonsense Realism | |
| |
| |
| The Scientific Method | |
| |
| |
| Knowledge of Theoretical Entities | |
| |
| |
| The Limits of Scientific Knowledge | |
| |
| |
| Scientific Realism as Superior to Commonsense Realism | |
| |
| |
| Constructivism | |
| |
| |
| Constructivism and Pragmatism | |
| |
| |
| Constructivism and Relativism | |
| |
| |
| Constructivism and Kant | |
| |
| |
| Meaning, Not Existence, Is Constructed | |
| |
| |
| Reality Is Not Different for Each of Us: Reality as a Social Construct | |
| |
| |
| Some Languages Are More Adequate Than Others | |
| |
| |
| The Argument for Constructivism | |
| |
| |
| |
| Evaluation | |
| |
| |
| Areas of Agreement | |
| |
| |
| Areas of Difference | |
| |
| |
| Commonsense Realism | |
| |
| |
| Scientific Realism | |
| |
| |
| Constructivism | |
| |
| |
| Social Entities and Natural Entities | |
| |
| |
| Final Recommendations | |
| |
| |
| Constructivism | |
| |
| |
| Commonsense Realism | |
| |
| |
| Scientific Realism | |
| |
| |
| Metaphysics | |
| |
| |
| Notes | |
| |
| |
| |
| What Kind of a Being Am I? | |
| |
| |
| Introduction: Philosophy and Psychology | |
| |
| |
| |
| Basic Beliefs | |
| |
| |
| The Definition of 'Mind' | |
| |
| |
| Minds and Worldviews | |
| |
| |
| |
| The Problem | |
| |
| |
| Possible Solutions | |
| |
| |
| Your Solutions | |
| |
| |
| Creative Thinking | |
| |
| |
| Dualism | |
| |
| |
| Descartes's Dualism | |
| |
| |
| Materialism | |
| |
| |
| Functionalism | |
| |
| |
| |
| Facts and Assumptions | |
| |
| |
| Facts Supporting Dualism | |
| |
| |
| Mental Events Appear to Be Different from Physical Events | |
| |
| |
| Incorrigibility | |
| |
| |
| Privacy | |
| |
| |
| Consciousness | |
| |
| |
| Other Facts That Support Dualism | |
| |
| |
| Facts Supporting Materialism | |
| |
| |
| Maps of the Brain | |
| |
| |
| Assumptions | |
| |
| |
| Idealism | |
| |
| |
| The New Mysterians | |
| |
| |
| Buddhism and the Denial of the Self | |
| |
| |
| Western Philosophy and the Denial of the Self | |
| |
| |
| Points of View | |
| |
| |
| |
| Arguments | |
| |
| |
| Substance Dualism | |
| |
| |
| The Good-Reasons Argument for Substance Dualism | |
| |
| |
| Objections to Substance Dualism | |
| |
| |
| Brain Functionalism | |
| |
| |
| The Mind as a Processor of Information | |
| |
| |
| The Mind Is Modular | |
| |
| |
| The Argument for Brain Functionalism | |
| |
| |
| Brain Functionalism Avoids the Problems of Other Views | |
| |
| |
| Brain Functionalism Is Supported by Science | |
| |
| |
| Brain Functionalism Explains the Facts of Our Mental Lives | |
| |
| |
| Brain Functionalism Explains Substance Dualism Facts | |
| |
| |
| Consciousness | |
| |
| |
| Property Dualism | |
| |
| |
| Epiphenomenalism | |
| |
| |
| Interactionist Property Dualism | |
| |
| |
| |
| Evaluation | |
| |
| |
| Substance Dualism Offers No Explanations of the Mind | |
| |
| |
| Criteria for Theory Acceptance | |
| |
| |
| |
| An Adequate Theory Is Universal | |
| |
| |
| |
| An Adequate Theory Is Consistent | |
| |
| |
| |
| An Adequate Theory Is Simple | |
| |
| |
| Materialism and Rule 1 | |
| |
| |
| Property Dualism | |
| |
| |
| Final Remarks: Metaphysical and Epistemological Property Dualism | |
| |
| |
| Notes | |
| |
| |
| |
| What Is Right and What Is Good? | |
| |
| |
| Introduction: Right and Wrong, Good and Evil | |
| |
| |
| |
| Basic Beliefs | |
| |
| |
| Value Theory | |
| |
| |
| Moral and Nonmoral Values | |
| |
| |
| Monistic and Pluralistic Theories of Value | |
| |
| |
| Theories of Obligation | |
| |
| |
| Moral Rules | |
| |
| |
| Moral Principles | |
| |
| |
| A Few More Concepts | |
| |
| |
| Ethics and Worldviews | |
| |
| |
| |
| The Problem | |
| |
| |
| Possible Solutions | |
| |
| |
| Consequentialism | |
| |
| |
| Ethical Egoism | |
| |
| |
| Utilitarianism | |
| |
| |
| Deontology | |
| |
| |
| The Ethics of Kant | |
| |
| |
| Kant's Theory of Obligation | |
| |
| |
| The Categorical Imperative: Rules Must Be Universal | |
| |
| |
| The Second Formulation: Respect for Persons | |
| |
| |
| The Third Formulation: Respect for Autonomy | |
| |
| |
| Virtue Ethics | |
| |
| |
| Virtues and Obligations | |
| |
| |
| Aristotle: The Good Life | |
| |
| |
| The Golden Mean | |
| |
| |
| Other Ethical Theories | |
| |
| |
| Do No Harm | |
| |
| |
| The Ethics of Care | |
| |
| |
| The Ethics of Rights | |
| |
| |
| |
| Facts and Assumptions | |
| |
| |
| Facts | |
| |
| |
| Assumptions | |
| |
| |
| Ethical Relativism | |
| |
| |
| Freedom and Responsibility | |
| |
| |
| |
| Arguments | |
| |
| |
| Criteria for an Adequate Ethical Theory | |
| |
| |
| Ethical Egoism | |
| |
| |
| Psychological Egoism | |
| |
| |
| The Role of Selfishness in Ethics | |
| |
| |
| Utilitarianism | |
| |
| |
| Act Utilitarianism | |
| |
| |
| Rule Utilitarianism | |
| |
| |
| The Ethics of Kant | |
| |
| |
| Virtue Ethics | |
| |
| |
| |
| Evaluation | |
| |
| |
| Theory of Obligation | |
| |
| |
| The Nature of Right Action | |
| |
| |
| Moral Reasoning | |
| |
| |
| "Good-Reasons" Arguments | |
| |
| |
| Theory of Value | |
| |
| |
| Moral Values | |
| |
| |
| Values and Obligations | |
| |
| |
| Final Remarks | |
| |
| |
| Case Studies | |
| |
| |
| |
| Cloning Human Beings | |
| |
| |
| |
| Physician-Assisted Suicide | |
| |
| |
| |
| Distributing Scarce Resources | |
| |
| |
| Notes | |
| |
| |
| |
| What Is the Best Type of Society? | |
| |
| |
| Introduction: The Individual and the State | |
| |
| |
| |
| Basic Beliefs | |
| |
| |
| The Best Type of Society Must Be Just | |
| |
| |
| The Best Type of Society Has Limits to Its Legitimate Powers | |
| |
| |
| Society and Worldviews | |
| |
| |
| |
| The Problem | |
| |
| |
| Possible Solutions | |
| |
| |
| Plato | |
| |
| |
| The Natural Law | |
| |
| |
| Social Contract Theories | |
| |
| |
| Social Utilitarianism | |
| |
| |
| Marxism | |
| |
| |
| Contemporary Views | |
| |
| |
| Libertarianism | |
| |
| |
| Socialism | |
| |
| |
| Liberalism | |
| |
| |
| |
| Facts and Assumptions | |
| |
| |
| Facts | |
| |
| |
| Types of Political Societies | |
| |
| |
| Core Documents | |
| |
| |
| Assumptions | |
| |
| |
| Human Nature | |
| |
| |
| Moral Relativism | |
| |
| |
| Points of View | |
| |
| |
| The Feminist Critique | |
| |
| |
| |
| Arguments | |
| |
| |
| Libertarianism | |
| |
| |
| Liberty as the Highest Value | |
| |
| |
| Unregulated Capitalism Preserves Liberty | |
| |
| |
| Justice and Negative Rights | |
| |
| |
| The "Rights" Argument | |
| |
| |
| The Economic Argument | |
| |
| |
| The "Bodyguard" Argument | |
| |
| |
| The Best Type of Society | |
| |
| |
| Socialism | |
| |
| |
| Equality, Need, and Positive Rights | |
| |
| |
| Types of Socialism | |
| |
| |
| The Evils of Capitalism | |
| |
| |
| The Ethical Argument | |
| |
| |
| The Best Type of Society | |
| |
| |
| Liberalism | |
| |
| |
| Liberty and Equality | |
| |
| |
| Positive and Negative Rights | |
| |
| |
| Rawls: Justice as Fairness | |
| |
| |
| The Best Type of Society | |
| |
| |
| |
| Evaluation | |
| |
| |
| Libertarianism | |
| |
| |
| Socialism | |
| |
| |
| Liberalism | |
| |
| |
| The Communitarian Critique of Liberalism | |
| |
| |
| Final Recommendations | |
| |
| |
| Notes | |
| |
| |
| |
| How Is a Worldview Constructed? | |
| |
| |
| Introduction: Worldviews | |
| |
| |
| |
| Three Worldviews | |
| |
| |
| The Nature of Worldviews | |
| |
| |
| Theism | |
| |
| |
| Basic Beliefs Compatible with the Theistic Worldview | |
| |
| |
| Secondary Beliefs Compatible with the Theistic Worldview | |
| |
| |
| Naturalism | |
| |
| |
| Humanism | |
| |
| |
| |
| Evaluating Worldviews | |
| |
| |
| Criteria for Evaluating Worldviews | |
| |
| |
| Worldviews Must Be Universal, Consistent, and Simple | |
| |
| |
| Worldviews Must Be Psychologically Acceptable | |
| |
| |
| Evaluating Theism, Naturalism, and Humanism | |
| |
| |
| Internal Consistency and Simplicity | |
| |
| |
| Universality | |
| |
| |
| External Consistency | |
| |
| |
| The Meaning of Life | |
| |
| |
| Concluding Remarks | |
| |
| |
| Glossary of Important Philosophical Terms | |
| |
| |
| Index | |