Philosophical Questions: Readings and Interactive Guides

This is a topically arranged textbook/reader (hybrid) covering the major writings in Eastern & Western philosophy intended for introduction to philosophy courses. This book combines commentary, primary texts, and study questions that guide students to better understand the philosophical works, ask focused questions, and ultimately spark in-depth discussions about the works.

Table of Contents:
1. INTRODUCING THE BOOK ; A. PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTIONS AND WONDER ; B. FEATURES OF THIS BOOK ; C. A LITTLE LOGIC ; 2. THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION ; A. CHALLENGES TO RELIGIOUS BELIEF ; 1. The Irrationality of Believing in Miracles ; 2. Religion as the Opium of the Masses ; 3. The Death of God ; B. THE PROBLEM OF EVIL ; 1. God and Human Suffering ; 2. The Logical Problem of Evil ; 3. The Logical Problem of Evil Challenged ; 4. A Soul-Making Theodicy ; C. MYSTICISM AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE ; 1. Hindu Mysticism ; 2. The Limited Authority of Mystical Experiences ; 3. The Untrustworthiness of Mystical Experiences ; 4. The Trustworthiness of Religious Experiences ; D. THE ONTOLOGICAL ARGUMENT FOR GOD'S EXISTNECE ; 1. Anselm's Proofs ; 2. Against the Ontological Argument ; E. THE COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT FOR GOD'S EXISTENCE ; 1. Aquinas's Proofs ; 2. Clarke's Proof and Hume's Criticisms ; F. THE DESIGN ARGUMENT FOR GOD'S EXISTENCE ; 1. Against the Design Argument ; 2. The Design Argument Revisited ; 3. Evolution and the Design Argument ; 4. The Fine-Tuning Argument ; G. FAITH AND RATIONALITY ; 1. Waging on Belief in God ; 2. The Will to Believe ; 3. Can We Know God Without Arguments? ; 3. HUMAN NATURE AND THE SELF ; A. DETERMINISM VERSUS FREE WILL ; 1. The Case for Determinism ; 2. Compatibilism ; 3. In Defense of Free Will ; 4. Determinism, Indeterminism, and Agency ; 5. Determinism and Second-Order Desires ; B. IDENTITY AND SURVIVAL ; 1. No-Self and Transmigration of the Soul ; 2. The Self as a Bundle of Perceptions ; 3. Identity and Survival ; C. THE SELF AS ACTIVE BEING ; 1. The Self as Spirit ; 2. The Self as Worker ; 3. The Self as the Will to Power ; 4. The Self as Being Toward Death ; D. THE SELF CONNECTED WITH A LARGER REALITY ; 1. The Self-God, Hindu Upanishads ; 2. The Way of Nature ; 3. The Ecological Self ; 4. Human Beings as Evolved Animals ; 4. SOULS, MINDS, BODIES, AND MACHINES ; A. ANCIENT WESTERN VIEWS ON BODY, SOUL, AND MIND ; 1. Materialism, Atoms, and Sensation: Democritus and Lucretius ; 2. Body and Soul: Plato ; 3. Soul as Form of the Body: Aristotle ; B. CLASSIC HINDU VIEWS ON SOUL, SELF, AND GOD ; 1. The Outer Empirical Self and the Inner Self-God ; 2. Strict Monism ; 3. Qualified Monism ; C. MODERN VIEWS ON MIND AND BODY ; 1. Mental and Physical Substance ; 2. The Mixture of Body and Soul ; 3. Idealist Monism and Parallelism ; D. TWENTIETH-CENTURY VIEWS ON MIND AND BODY ; 1. Logical Behaviorism ; 2. Mind-Brain Identity and Eliminative Materialism ; 3. Functionalism ; E. INTENTIONALITY ; 1. Intentionality as the Mark of the Mental ; 2. Kinds of Intentional Psychology ; F. MINDS AND MACHINES ; 1. Humans as Machines ; 2. Reminders About Machines and Thinking ; 3. Minds, Brains, and the Chinese Room Argument ; 4. A Reply to Searle ; 5. Natural Languages, AI, and Existential Holism ; 5. EPISTEMOLOGY ; A. SKEPTICISM AND CERTAINTY ; 1. The Relativity of All Things ; 2. The Goals and Methods of Skepticism ; 3. Dreams, Illusions, and the Evil Genius ; 4. Skepticism About the External World ; 5. The Problem of Induction ; B. SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE: RATIONALISM AND EMPIRICISM ; 1. Knowledge Does Not Come from the Senses ; 2. All Knowledge Derives from the Senses ; 3. The Nature of Perception ; C. A PRIORI KNOWLEDGE ; 1. The Fork ; 2. Analytic and Synthetic Judgments ; 3. One Dogma of Empiricism ; D. FOUNDATIONALISM AND COHERENCE ; 1. Foundationalism ; 2. Knowledge and Coherence ; 3. The Raft Versus the Pyramid ; E. PROBLEMS WITH JUSTIFIED BELIEF ; 1. True Belief Is Not Sufficient for Knowledge ; 2. Justification, Internalism, and Warrant ; 3. Naturalist Externalism Versus Internalism ; 4. Justified Belief and Intellectual Virtues ; F. THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF KNOWLEDGE ; 1. Social Factors in the Development of Knowledge and Science ; 2. Epistemology and the Sex of the Knower ; 3. Confusions in Constructivist Views ; 6. ETHICS ; A. ARE MORAL VALUES OBJECTIVE? ; 1. Morality Grounded in Unchanging Spiritual Forms ; 2. Moral Relativism ; 3. The Case Against Moral Relativism ; B. CAN HUMAN CONDUCT BE SELFLESS? ; 1. Whether Human Nature Is Inherently Good or Evil ; 2. The Selfish Origins of Pity and Charity ; 3. Love of Others Not Opposed to Self-Love ; 4. Altruism and Sociobiology ; C. REASON AND MORAL JUDGMENTS ; 1. Can We Derive Ought from Is ; 2. Expressing Feelings ; 3. Morality and the Best Reasons ; D. GENDER AND MORALITY ; 1. Rational Morality for Men and Women ; 2. Uniquely Female Morality ; E. VIRTUES ; 1. Virtue and Happiness ; 2. Traditions and Virtues ; F. DUTIES ; 1. Duties to God, Self, and Others ; 2. The Categorical Imperative ; 3. Prima Facie Duties ; 4. Duties Toward Animals ; G. PLEASURE AND CONSEQUENCES ; 1. Hedonistic Ethical Egoism ; 2. Utilitarian Calculus ; 3. Utilitarianism and Higher Pleasures ; 7. POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY ; A. ANARCHISM ; 1. Governments Contrary to the Way of Nature ; 2. An Argument for Anarchy ; 3. The Conflict Between Authority and Autonomy ; B. SOURCES OF POLITICAL AUTHORITY ; 1. Natural Law ; 2. The Social Contract ; 3. Natural Rights ; C. LIBERALISM AND COMMUNITARIANISM ; 1. Justice in the Original Position ; 2. Libertarianism ; 3. Communitarianism ; D. VIRTUOUS LEADERSHIP ; 1. Virtuous Leadership at the Root of Good Government ; 2. The Philosopher King ; 3. Political Survival ; E. LIMITS OF POLITICAL COERCION ; 1. The Limited Purpose of Punishment ; 2. Preserving Individual Liberty ; 3. Offense to Others ; F. CIVIL OBEDIENCE, DISOBEDIENCE, AND REVOLUTION ; 1. Obedience to the State ; 2. Civil Disobedience ; 3. A Defense of Revolution ; Glossary ; Works Cited ; Illustration Acknowledgments ; Index