The big questions : a short introduction to philosophy / Robert C. Solomon, Kathleen M. Higgins

Solomon and Higgins's engaging text covers philosophy's central ideas in an accessible, approachable manner. Through an exploration of timeless big questions about the self, God, justice, and other meaningful topics, the authors provide students with the context they need for an understanding of the foundational issues, while giving them the impetus and confidence to establish their own informed positions on these big questions. To give you the flexibility to fit the book to your course, the authors have designed each chapter with self-contained discussions, thus making it easy for you to choose your preferred topics and presentation order. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version. Cover 1 Contents 5 Preface 12 Introduction: Doing Philosophy 20 Beyond Buzzwords 22 Articulation and Argument: Two Crucial Features of Philosophy 23 Concepts and Conceptual Frameworks 25 Doing Philosophy with Style 31 A Little Logic 33 Deduction 34 Induction 35 Criticizing Arguments 37 Closing Questions 41 Key Words 42 Works Cited 43 Other Suggested Readings 43 Ch 1: Philosophical Questions 44 What Is Philosophy? 45 Opening Questions 46 Key Words 58 Works Cited 58 Other Suggested Readings 58 Ch 2: The Meaning of Life 59 Opening Questions 60 What Kind of Meaning? 61 The Meanings of Life 66 Closing Questions 78 Key Words 79 Works Cited 79 Other Suggested Readings 80 Ch 3: God 81 Opening Questions 82 Believing in God 83 Gods and Goddesses 86 The Traditional Western Conceptions of God 87 The Problem of Evil 99 Faith and Reason: Grounds for Believing 104 Religious Tolerance: Ritual, Tradition, and Spirituality 114 Doubts 116 Closing Questions 118 Key Words 119 Works Cited 120 Other Suggested Readings 121 Ch 4: The Nature of Reality 122 Opening Questions 123 The Real World 124 What Is Most Real? 127 The First Metaphysicians 130 Early Nonphysical Views of Reality 133 Plato's Forms 136 Aristotle's Metaphysics 138 Mind and Metaphysics 140 Idealism 146 Teleology 151 Metaphysics and the Everyday World 154 Closing Questions 156 Key Words 157 Works Cited 158 Other Suggested Readings 158 Ch 5: The Search for Truth 159 Opening Questions 160 What Is True? 160 Two Kinds of Truth 162 Rationalism and Empiricism 166 The Presuppositions of Knowledge 169 Skepticism 171 Knowledge, Truth, and Science 180 The Nature of Truth 185 Rationality 189 Subjective Truth and the Problem of Relativism 192 Closing Questions 197 Key Words 198 Works Cited 198 Other Suggested Readings 199 Ch 6: Self 200 Opening Questions 201 The Essential Self 202 The Self and Its Emotions 209 The Egocentric Predicament 213 The Mind-Body Problem 215 Other Theories of the Self 222 Closing Questions 235 Key Words 236 Works Cited 236 Other Suggested Readings 238 Ch 7: Freedom 239 Opening Questions 240 Freedom and the Good Life 241 Free Will and Determinism 250 Closing Questions 262 Key Words 263 Works Cited 263 Other Suggested Readings 264 Ch 8: Morality and the Good Life 265 Opening Questions 266 Moral Philosophy 267 The Place of Self-Interest in Morality: Egoism versus Altruism 270 Morality-Relative or Absolute? 274 Morality and Theories of Morality 279 Duty-Defined Morality 280 Consequentialist Theories 285 Aristotle and the Ethics of Virtue 290 Feminist Ethics: The Ethics of Care 293 Closing Questions 297 Key Words 298 Works Cited 298 Other Suggested Readings 299 Ch 9: Justice and the Good Society 301 Opening Questions 302 Morals and Society 303 The Nature of Society 304 Who Should Rule? The Question of Legitimacy 305 Anarchism, the Free Market, and the Need for Government 308 What Is Justice? 310 The Meaning of Equality 313 The Origins of Justice and the Social Contract 316 Justice beyond Our Borders 319 Rights and the Individual 321 Justice Denied: The Problem of Race 323 Sexual Politics: The Rise of Feminist Philosophy 326 Closing Questions 336 Key Words 338 Works Cited 338 Other Suggested Readings 339 Ch 10: Beauty 341 Opening Questions 342 Aesthetics 342 Beauty and Truth 343 Enjoying Tragedy 347 Arguing about Taste 349 Art, Ethics, and Religion 352 Why Is It Art? 355 The Aesthetics of Popular Culture 356 Closing Questions 360 Key Words 361 Works Cited 361 Other Suggested Readings 361 Ch 11: Non-Western Philosophy 363 Opening Questions 364 Beyond the Western Tradition 364 The Challenges of Broadening Our Horizons 366 Other Cultures, Other Philosophies 367 Closing Questions 392 Key Words 393 Works Cited 393 Other Suggested Readings 394 Appendix A: Writing Philosophy 396 Appendix B: Deductive Logic Valid Argument Forms 420 Appendix C: Common Informal Fallacies 426 Glossary 432 Index 456 THE BIG QUESTIONS, 10th Edition, covers philosophy's central ideas in an accessible, approachable manner. You'll explore timeless "big questions" about the self, God, justice, and other meaningful topics, gaining the context you need for an understanding of the foundational issues, as well as the confidence to establish your own informed positions on these "big questions." This edition is now also available with MindTap Philosophy, a system of tools and apps -- from note taking to flashcards -- that help you understand course concepts, achieve better grades, and set the groundwork for your future courses. "Solomon and Higgins's engaging text covers philosophy's central ideas in an accessible, approachable manner. Through an exploration of timeless 'big questions' about the self, God, justice, and other meaningful topics, the authors provide students with the context they need for an understanding of the foundational issues, while giving them the impetus and confidence to establish their own informed positions on these 'big questions.'" --Provided by publisher