| Preface | |
| Introduction | |
| The Nature of Philosophy | |
| Introduction: What is Philosophy? | |
| The Traditional Divisions of Philosophy | |
| An Example of Philosophy: Socrates | |
| The Value of Philosophy | |
| Chapter Summary and Conclusions | |
| Historical Showcase: the First Philosophers | |
| Readings | |
| Appendix: A Look at Logic | |
| Suggestions for Further Reading | |
| Human Nature | |
| Introduction: Why Study Human Nature? | |
| What is Human Nature? | |
| How Do Mind and Body Relate? | |
| Is The re an Enduring Self? | |
| Are We Independent and Self-Sufficient Individuals? | |
| Chapter Summary and Conclusions | |
| Historical Showcase: Plato, Aristotle and Confucius | |
| Readings | |
| Suggestions for Further Reading | |
| Metaphysics | |
| Reality and Being | |
| Introduction: What is Real? | |
| Reality: Material or Nonmaterial? | |
| Reality in Pragmatism | |
| Reality and Logical Positivism | |
| Antirealism: the New Idealists | |
| Encountering Reality: Phenomenology and Existentialism | |
| Is Freedom Real? is Time Real? | |
| Chapter Summary and Conclusions | |
| Historical Showcase: Hobbes and Berkeley | |
| Readings | |
| Suggestions for Further Reading | |
| Philosophy and God | |
| Introduction: What is Religion? | |
| Does God Exist? Atheism, Agnosticism, and the Problem of Evil | |
| Traditional Religious Belief and Experience | |
| Nontraditional Religious Experience | |
| Chapter Summary and Conclusions | |
| Historical Showcase: Aquinas, Descartes, and Conway | |
| Readings | |
| Suggestions for Further Reading | |
| Epistemelogy | |
| The Sources of Knowledge | |
| Introduction: Why is Knowledge a Problem? | |
| Is Reason the Source of Our Knowledge? | |
| Can the Senses Account for all Our Knowledge? | |
| Kant: Does the Knowing Mind Shape the World? | |
| Does Science Give Us Knowledge? | |
| Chapter Summary and Conclusions | |
| Historical Showcase: Hume | |
| Readings | |
| Suggestions for Further Reading | |
| Truth | |
| Introduction: Belief, Knowledge and Truth | |
| What is Truth? | |
| Does Science Give Us Truth? | |
| Can Interpretations Be True? | |
| Chapter Summary and Conclusions | |
| Historical Showcase: Kant | |
| Readings | |
| Suggestions for Further Reading | |
| Values | |
| Ethics | |
| Introduction: What is Ethics? | |
| Is Ethics Relative? | |
| Do Consequences Make an Action Right? | |
| Do Rules Define Morality? | |
| Is Ethics Based on Character? | |
| Can Ethics Resolve Moral Quandaries? | |
| Ethics and Moral Responsibility | |
| Chapter Summary and Conclusions | |
| Historical Showcase: Nietzsche and Wollstonecraft | |
| Readings | |
| Suggestions for Further Reading | |
| Social Philosophy | |
| Introduction: What is Social Philosophy? | |
| What Justifies the State? | |
| What is Justice? Law and Civil Disobedience | |
| Chapter Summary and Conclusions | |
| Historical Showcase: Marx and Rawls | |
| Readings | |
| Suggestions for Further Reading | |
| Postscript: Art and Meaning | |
| Introduction | |
| What is Art? | |
| Does Life Have Meaning? | |
| Chapter Summary and Conclusions | |
| Suggestions for Further Reading | |
| Art Acknowledgments | |
| Glossary | |
| Appendix | |
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