Problems from Philosophy

Problems from Philosophy is an introduction to philosophy which is organized around the great philosophical problems―the existence of God, the nature of the mind, human freedom, the limits of knowledge, and the truth about ethics. It begins by reflecting on the life of the first great philosopher, Socrates. Then it takes up the fundamental question of whether God exists. Next comes a discussion of death and the soul, which leads to a chapter about persons. The later chapters of the book are about whether objective knowledge is possible in science and ethics. Each chapter is self-contained and may be read independently of the others. __Problems from Philosophy__ represents the final work of author and philosopher James Rachels. In it, he brings the same liveliness and clarity to the introduction of philosophy that he brings to his best-selling ethics text, __The Elements of Moral Philosophy__. The second and third edition have been revised by Rachels' son Stuart, who carefully has carefully refined his father's work to further strengthen its clarity and accessibility. Cover Page 1 Half Title Page 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 About the Authors 6 Contents 8 Preface 11 About the Third Edition 12 1. THE LEGACY OF SOCRATES 14 1.1. Why Was Socrates Condemned? 14 1.2. Why Did Socrates Believe He Had to Die? 16 2. GOD AND THE ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE 23 2.1. Is It Reasonable to Believe in God? 23 2.2. The Argument from Design 24 2.3. Evolution and Intelligent Design 28 2.4. The First Cause Argument 34 2.5. The Idea That God Is a Necessary Being 36 3. THE PROBLEM OF EVIL 40 3.1. Why Do Good People Suffer? 40 3.2. God and Evil 42 3.3. Free Will and Moral Character 46 4. DO WE SURVIVE DEATH? 51 4.1. The Idea of an Immortal Soul 51 4.2. Is There Any Credible Evidence of an Afterlife? 54 4.3. Hume’s Argument against Miracles 62 5. T HE PROBLEM OF PERSONAL IDENTITY 65 5.1. The Problem 65 5.2. Personhood at a Time 66 5.3. Personhood over Time 70 5.4. Bodily Continuity 71 5.5. Memory 74 6. BODY AND MIND 80 6.1. Descartes and Elizabeth 80 6.2. Materialist Theories of the Mind 84 6.3. Doubts about Materialist Theories 93 7. COULD A MACHINE THINK? 96 7.1. Brains and Computers 96 7.2. An Argument That Machines Could Think 97 7.3. The Turing Test 100 7.4. Why the Turing Test Fails 104 8. THE CASE AGAINST FREE WILL 107 8.1. Are People Responsible for What They Do? 107 8.2. Determinism 109 8.3. Psychology 112 8.4. Genes and Behavior 117 9. THE DEBATE OVER FREE WILL 122 9.1. The Determinist Argument 122 9.2. The Libertarian Response 123 9.3. The Compatibilist Response 128 9.4. Ethics and Free Will 131 10. OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD AROUND US 138 10.1. Vats and Demons 138 10.2. Idealism 140 10.3. What Evidence for These Views Might Be Like 142 10.4. Descartes’ Theological Response 143 10.5. Direct vs. Indirect Realism 146 10.6. Vision and the Brain 147 10.7. Conclusion 150 11. ETHICS AND OBJECTIVITY 152 11.1. Thrasymachus’s Challenge 152 11.2. Is Ethics Just a Matter of Social Conventions? 153 11.3. Ethics and Science 157 11.4. The Importance of Human Interests 164 12. WHY SHOULD WE BE MORAL? 166 12.1. The Ring of Gyges 166 12.2. Ethics and Religion 167 12.3. The Social Contract 170 12.4. Morality and Benevolence 172 13. THE MEANING OF LIFE 179 13.1. The Problem of the Point of View 179 13.2. Happiness 180 13.3. Death 182 13.4. Religion and the Indifferent Universe 184 13.5. The Meaning of Particular Lives 186 Appendix: How to Evaluate Arguments 189 Notes on Sources 198 Index 209 "Problems from Philosophy is an introduction to philosophy which is organized around the great philosophical problems--the existence of God, the nature of the mind, human freedom, the limits of knowledge, and the truth about ethics. It begins by reflecting on the life of the first great philosopher, Socrates. Then it takes up the fundamental question of whether God exists. Next comes a discussion of death and the soul, which leads to a chapter about persons. The later chapters of the book are about whether objective knowledge is possible in science and ethics. Each chapter is self-contained and may be read independently of the others. Problems from Philosophy represents the final work of author and philosopher James Rachels. In it, he brings the same liveliness and clarity to the introduction of philosophy that he brings to his best-selling ethics text, The Elements of Moral Philosophy. The second and third edition have been revised by Rachels' son Stuart, who carefully has carefully refined his father's work to further strengthen its clarity and accessibility."--Publisher's description Offers an introduction to philosophy which is organized around the great philosophical problems - the existence of God, the nature of the mind, human freedom, the limits of knowledge, and the truth about ethics. This title begins by reflecting on the life of the first great philosopher, Socrates.