Philosophy Then and Now
An Introductory Text with Readings

This introductory philosophy text features classic and contemporary readings and sections on the major ideas associated with a seminal figure from the history of philosophy. Key selections from the essential writings of that philosopher are included, as well as selections from contemporary figures.

Philosophy Then and Now provides an innovative and engaging blend of introductory text with classic and contemporary readings.Each of the eight parts begins with an introductory section on the major ideas associated with a seminal figure from the history of philosophy. This is followed by key selections from the essential writings of that philosopher, as well as influential selections from contemporary figures. Key figures covered include: Socrates, Aquinas, Locke, Descartes, Mill, Nietzsche, Marx, and Sartre.By focusing on the core themes, issues and problems of philosophy, the volume motivates student interest in the subject, and represents a distinctive text for all introductory courses in philosophy.

Editors and Contributors. Acknowledgments. Introduction. 1. Mind, Body, and Death. Introductory text: "Socrates and the Soul of Death": George Graham.Selected Readings: Plato, Phaedo (selections). Descartes, Principles of Philosophy, Correspondence, Passions of the Soul. Thomas Nagel, "Death". Gareth Matthews, "Life and Death as the Arrival and Departure of Psyche". Jerry Fodor, "The Mind-Body Problem". 2. Freedom and Determinism. Introductory Text: "Sartre on Being Free": George Graham and Harold Kincaid.Selected Readings: Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness (selections). Pierre Simone de Laplace, Philosophical Essays on Determinism (selections). Daniel Dennett, "On Giving Libertarians What They Say They Want". Robert Kane, "Free Will: The Elusive Ideal". 3. Philosophical Theology. Introductory Text: "Aquinas and the Rationality of Belief in God": Gregory Pence. Selected Readings: Thomas Aquinas, "Five Ways to Prove the Existence of God", from Summa Theologica. William Paley, "The Evidence of Design". John L. Mackie, "Arguments for Design". William L. Rowe, "The Cosmological Argument." R. M. Adams, "Kierkegaard's Arguments Against Objective Reasoning...". Fydor Dostoevsky, "Why Does God Permit Evil?" from The Brothers Karamazov.
4. Knowledge and Scepticism. Introductory Text: "Descartes and Our Knowledge of the External World": G. Lynn Stephens. Selected Readings: Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (selections). Bertrand Russell, The Problems of Philosophy (selections). W. V. O. Quine, "Posits and Reality". Bruce Aune, Knowledge, Mind and Nature (selections). 5. The Scientific Method. Introductory Text: "Mill and the Nature of Science": Harold Kincaid. Selected Readings: John Stuart Mill, A System of Logic (selections). Carl Hempel, Philosophy of Natural Science (selections). Karl Popper, "Philosophy of Science: A Personal Report". Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (selections). J. J. C. Smart, "Physics and Reality". 6. The Nature of Morality. Introductory Text: "Nietzsche and the Objectivity of Morals": James Rachels. Selected Readings: Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil (selections)
Genology of Morals (selections). David Hume, "Morality, Sentiment, and Reason" (selections from the Treatise ). A. J. Ayer, "A Defence of Emotivism". Renford Bambrough, "A Proof of the Objectivity of Morals". Ronald Dworkin, "The Concept of a Moral Position". 7. Government. Introductory Text: "Locke: The Individual, the Public, the State" (selections). Selected Readings: Plato, The Republic (selections). Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (selections). John Locke, 2nd Treatise (selections). John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (selections). George Dargo, "Private Property and Legal Takings" (selections). Charles A. Reich, "The New Property" (selections). Michael Sandel, "Morality and the Liberal Ideal". Iris Marion Young, "Impartiality and the Civic Public" (selections). 8. Distributive Justice. Introductory Text: "Marx and the Problem of Justice": N. Scott Arnold. Selected Readings: Karl Marx, Preface to Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy (selections). Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto (selections). Karl Marx, Critique of the Gotha Program (selections). John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (selections). Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia (selections).
Index.