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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