This Is Philosophy - 2nd Edition by Steven D Hales (Paperback)
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<p/><br></br><p><b> About the Book </b></p></br></br>"The present book takes a third path. Although it includes commentary on the great historical philosophers and tries to show contemporary relevance, the book introduces students to philosophy topically. While there are references to Buddhism, the Vedas, Islam, and so on, the issues addressed are the bread-and-butter mainstream subjects in broadly analytic Western philosophy. Any student who successfully completes a course based on this book will have a solid grounding in wide variety of topics in different subdisciplines, as well as the pros and cons of different theoretical ways to address those topics. A student who masters the content of this book is well-placed to move on as a philosophy major in the vast majority of philosophy departments. The problems of philosophy are deeply interconnected, and there is no natural or obvious starting point from which to begin. Indeed, plausible arguments might be given for starting with almost any of the central problems in the field. You might think that we should surely start with epistemology; until we understand what knowledge is and settle the matter of whether and how we can gain any knowledge at all, how can we possibly determine whether we can have knowledge of God, or our moral duties, or the nature of the mind? Clearly epistemology is the most fundamental philosophical project. Wait-how can we be sure that knowledge is valuable to have? Or that we ought to care about gaining truth and avoiding error? We'd better start with axiology and sort out duty, obligation, and responsibility first. Normativity and ethics must be foundational. Of course, how can we determine what our epistemic responsibilities are if we don't antecedently know whether we are free to believe one thing rather than another, or if we are truly at liberty to make choices? Let's begin with the issue of free will and figure that out first. If we're not free, that torpedoes a lot of other philosophical agendas. Yet if we don't know what kinds of beings we are, how can we ever determine whether we are free? Maybe personal identity should be the first stop on the road. And so on"--<p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br><b>THIS IS PHILOSOPHY</b> <p>"The second edition of <i>This is Philosophy</i> improves upon an excellent first edition. This clear, succinct book is quite possibly the best introduction to Western philosophy on the market."<br> --Gregory Morgan, <i>Stevens Institute of Technology</i><p>"This is a terrific book. The writing is not only extremely clear, it is downright gripping--with relevant and detailed examples at every turn. Steven Hales has produced not just a great little introduction to philosophy--he has produced a great little book in philosophy, period."<br> --Michael Lynch, <i>University of Connecticut</i><p>"Hales clearly explains important philosophical ideas with a minimum of jargon and without sacrificing depth of content and he consistently gives a fair and accurate presentation of both sides of central philosophical disputes."<br> --Matthew Van Cleave, <i>Teaching Philosophy</i><p>As the oldest discipline in the academy, philosophy began by asking questions of the world and of human nature. Philosophers are responsible for the Enlightenment and laid the foundations for constitutional governments. Yet, while it may have given birth to the natural sciences, philosophy has earned a contemporary reputation as an esoteric and impractical field out of touch with everyday life--but it doesn't have to be that way. <i>This is Philosophy: An Introduction</i> expertly guides students through the fundamentals of philosophy by illuminating difficult, abstract ideas with straightforward language. Assuming no prior background in the subject, this volume brings philosophical concepts into sharp focus through relatable examples and clear explanations of philosophy's big questions and arguments.<p>The second edition of this accessible textbook is organized around seven central philosophical problems, including ethics, the existence of God, free will, personal identity, philosophy of mind, and epistemology. New to this edition is a chapter on political philosophy that explores the state of nature, anarchy, contractarianism, libertarianism, and the liberal state. These self-contained chapters have been reordered and recalibrated to best suit the needs of introductory philosophy courses, and can be taught independently or in sequence. Enhanced by updated examples, new hyperlinks and references, and detailed bibliographies, the book is complemented by extensively-revised online resources available to instructors, including a 200-question test bank and over 450 PowerPoint slides designed to strengthen student comprehension of key concepts.<p>Strengthening the popular first edition which launched the series, <i>This is Philosophy: An Introduction, Second Edition</i> is the perfect primary textbook for beginning philosophy students as well as general readers with an interest in philosophy.<p/><br></br><p><b> From the Back Cover </b></p></br></br><p>"The second edition of <i>This is Philosophy</i> improves upon an excellent first edition. This clear, succinct book is quite possibly the best introduction to Western philosophy on the market."<br> --Gregory Morgan, <i>Stevens Institute of Technology</i></p><p>"This is a terrific book. The writing is not only extremely clear, it is downright gripping--with relevant and detailed examples at every turn. Steven Hales has produced not just a great little introduction to philosophy--he has produced a great little book in philosophy, period."<br> --Michael Lynch, <i>University of Connecticut</i></p><p>"Hales clearly explains important philosophical ideas with a minimum of jargon and without sacrificing depth of content and he consistently gives a fair and accurate presentation of both sides of central philosophical disputes."<br> --Matthew Van Cleave, <i>Teaching Philosophy</i></p><p>As the oldest discipline in the academy, philosophy began by asking questions of the world and of human nature. Philosophers are responsible for the Enlightenment and laid the foundations for constitutional governments. Yet, while it may have given birth to the natural sciences, philosophy has earned a contemporary reputation as an esoteric and impractical field out of touch with everyday life--but it doesn't have to be that way. <i>This is Philosophy: An Introduction</i> expertly guides students through the fundamentals of philosophy by illuminating difficult, abstract ideas with straightforward language. Assuming no prior background in the subject, this volume brings philosophical concepts into sharp focus through relatable examples and clear explanations of philosophy's big questions and arguments.</p><p>The second edition of this accessible textbook is organized around seven central philosophical problems, including ethics, the existence of God, free will, personal identity, philosophy of mind, and epistemology. New to this edition is a chapter on political philosophy that explores the state of nature, anarchy, contractarianism, libertarianism, and the liberal state. These self-contained chapters have been reordered and recalibrated to best suit the needs of introductory philosophy courses, and can be taught independently or in sequence. Enhanced by updated examples, new hyperlinks and references, and detailed bibliographies, the book is complemented by extensively-revised online resources available to instructors, including a 200-question test bank and over 450 PowerPoint slides designed to strengthen student comprehension of key concepts.</p><p>Strengthening the popular first edition which launched the series, <i>This is Philosophy: An Introduction, Second Edition</i> is the perfect primary textbook for beginning philosophy students as well as general readers with an interest in philosophy.</p><p/><br></br><p><b> About the Author </b></p></br></br><p><b>STEVEN D. HALES</b> is Professor and Chair of Philosophy at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. He works primarily in metaphysics and epistemology, and has published in <i>Mind, Noûs, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research</i>, and other journals. He has been a Visiting Professor at the Universities of Cambridge, Turin, Edinburgh, and London, and has won awards for both teaching and research. He has written or edited 12 books, most recently <i>The Myth of Luck: Philosophy, Fate and Fortune</i> (2020).</p>
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