James Rachels, Stuart Rachels

Problems from Philosophy (eBook, ePUB)

An Introductory Text

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

Problems from Philosophy is an introductory text 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 consider whether objective knowledge is possible in science and ethics. Problems from Philosophy represents the final work of philosopher James Rachels. In it, he brings the same liveliness and clarity to the introduction of philosophy present in his other best-selling texts. Problems from Philosophy has been revised by James Rachels' son Stuart, who has carefully refined his father's work to further strengthen its clarity and accessibility. The fourth edition features revisions on discussions of free will, artificial intelligence, idealism, and Kantian ethics.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury eBooks US
• Seitenzahl: 208
• Erscheinungstermin: 11. Juni 2021
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781538149591
• Artikelnr.: 62015109

Autorenporträt

James Rachels (1941-2003) was Professor of Philosophy at the University of Alabama, USA. wrote The End of Life: Euthanasia and Morality (1986), Created from Animals: The Moral Implications of Darwinism (1990), Can Ethics Provide Answers? And Other Essays in Moral Philosophy (1997), Problems from Philosophy (first edition, 2005), and The Legacy of Socrates: Essays in Moral Philosophy (2007). His website is www.jamesrachels.org.

Inhaltsangabe

PrefaceAbout the Third Edition1. THE LEGACY OF SOCRATES1.1 Why Was Socrates
Condemned?1.2 Why Did Socrates Believe He Had to Die?2. GOD AND THE ORIGIN
OF THE UNIVERSE2.1 Is It Reasonable to Believe in God?2.2 The Argument from
Design2.3 Evolution and Intelligent Design2.4 The First Cause Argument2.5
The Idea That God Is a Necessary Being3. THE PROBLEM OF EVIL3.1 Why Do Good
People Suffer?3.2 God and Evil3.3 Free Will and Moral Character4. DO WE
SURVIVE DEATH?4.1 The Idea of an Immortal Soul4.2 Is There Any Credible
Evidence of an Afterlife?4.3 Hume's Argument against Miracles5. THE PROBLEM
OF PERSONAL IDENTITY5.1 The Problem5.2 Personhood at a Time5.3 Personhood
over Time5.4 Bodily Continuity5.5 Memory6. BODY AND MIND6.1 Descartes and
Elizabeth6.2 Materialist Theories of the Mind6.3 Doubts about Materialist
Theories7. COULD A MACHINE THINK?7.1 Brains and Computers7.2 An Argument
That Machines Could Think7.3 The Turing Test7.4 Why the Turing Test Fails8.
THE CASE AGAINST FREE WILL8.1 Are People Responsible for What They Do?8.2
Determinism8.3 Psychology8.4 Genes and Behavior9. THE DEBATE OVER FREE
WILL9.1 The Determinist Argument9.2 The Libertarian Response9.3 The
Compatibilist Response9.4 Ethics and Free Will10. OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE
WORLD AROUND US10.1 Vats and Demons10.2 Idealism10.3 What Evidence for
These Views Might Be Like10.4 Descartes' Theological Response10.5 Direct
vs. Indirect Realism10.6 Vision and the Brain10.7 Conclusion11. ETHICS AND
OBJECTIVITY11.1 Thrasymachus's Challenge11.2 Is Ethics Just a Matter of
Social Conventions?11.3 Ethics and Science11.4 The Importance of Human
Interests12. WHY SHOULD WE BE MORAL?12.1 The Ring of Gyges12.2 Ethics and
Religion12.3 The Social Contract12.4 Morality and Benevolence13. THE
MEANING OF LIFE13.1 The Problem of the Point of View13.2 Happiness13.3
Death13.4 Religion and the Indifferent Universe13.5 The Meaning of
Particular Lives Appendix: How to Evaluate Arguments Notes on Sources Index