Philosophical Questions Classical and Contemporary Readings

1. Questions about PhilosophyWhat Is Philosophy? Why Is It Important?Plato: "The Activity of Philosophy"Plato: "Philosophy on Trial"How Can I Decide What to Believe? Tools for Examining Arguments2. Questions about God, Faith, and ReasonPhilosophy of Religion: What Are the Issues?What Are My Options Concerning Philosophy of Religion?Opening Narrative: Is There a Reality that Transcends Our Own?Edwin Abbott: "Flatland"Is There Evidence for the Existence of God?The Cosmological ArgumentThomas Aquinas: "Five Arguments for God"Richard Taylor: "Why the World Needs an Explanation"William Rowe: "A Critique of the Cosmological Argument"The Teleological ArgumentWilliam Paley: "The World Shows Evidence of Design"David Hume: "The Evidence of Design is Weak"The Ontological ArgumentSt. Anselm and Gaunilo: "The Ontological Argument-For and Against"Michael Martin: "A Critique of the Ontological Argument"Do Suffering and Evil Count Against the Existence of God?Albert Camus: "Two Responses to Suffering"B.C. Johnson: "Evil Disproves the Existence of God"John Hick: "There Is a Reason Why God Allows Evil"Is Religious Faith without Evidence Justified?Blaise Pascal: "Faith is Pragmatically Justified"William James: "Faith is Subjectively Justified"Michael Scriven: "Faith is not Justified"Antony Flew, R.M. Hare, and Basil Mitchell: "Three Parables about Religious Faith"Contemporary Application: Does Religion Conflict with Science?Richard Dawkins: "Science is in Tension with Religion"Paul Davies: "Science Supports Religion"3. Questions about Human KnowledgeHuman Knowledge: What Are the Issues?What Are My Options Concerning Human Knowledge?Opening Narrative: Do We Know as Much as We Think We Do?Plato: "The Allegory of the Cave"What Can We Know? How Do We Know?Rene Descartes: "Rationalism and the Search for Certainty"John Locke: "Empiricism and Common Sense"George Berkeley: "Empiricism and Idealism"David Hume: "Empiricism and Skepticism"Immanuel Kant: "Knowledge Is Based Both on Reason and Experience"William James: "The Pragmatic Theory of Knowledge"Alison M. Jaggar: "A Feminist Perspective on Knowledge"Can We Know Anything at All? Responses to SkepticismO.K. Bouwsma: "Descartes' Evil Genius"John Hospers: "An Argument Against Skepticism"Contemporary Application: Does Science Give Us Objective Knowledge about the World?Steven Weinberg: "Scientific Knowledge Is Based in Reality"Richard Rorty: "Scientific Knowledge Is Based in Social Solidarity"4. Questions about the MindThe Mind: What Are the Issues?What Are My Options Concerning the Mind?Opening Narrative: What is the Self?Daniel Dennett: "Where Am I?"What is the Mind? Is It Separate from the Body?Hugh Elliot: "Tantalus"Rene Descartes: "Dualism-The Mind Is Separate from the Body"Gilbert Ryle: "Logical Behaviorism-Mental Statements Refer to Behavior"Paul Churchland: "Eliminative Materialism-There Is No Mind"David Chalmers: "The Puzzle of Conscious Experience"R. Buckminster Fuller: "What's a Man?"What is the Basis of Personal Identity? Do I Survive My Death?John Locke: "The Self Is Identical to Its Psychological States:David Hume: "There Is No Self"Jeffrey Olen: "An Account of Personal Identity and Immortality"Linda Badham: "An Argument Against Immortality"Contemporary Application: Can Computers Think?Christopher Evans: "Computers Will Some Day Be Able to Think"John Searle: "Computer Programs Can Only Simulate Thinking"Terry Bisson: "They're Made Out of Meat"5. Questions about Free Will and DeterminismFreedom and Determinism: What Are the Issues?What Are My Options Concerning Human Freedom?Hard DeterminismLibertarianismCompatibilismOpening Narrative: When Are We Morally Responsible for Our Actions?Jonathan Harrison: "The Case of Dr. Svengali"Do We Have Free Will? Are We Morally Responsible?Baron d'Holbach: "Hard Determinism-We Are Determined and Not Responsible"C.A. Campbell: "Libertarianism-We Are Free and Responsible"W.T. Stace: "Compatibilism-We ArLawhead, William is the author of 'Philosophical Questions Classical and Contemporary Readings', published 2002 under ISBN 9780072985474 and ISBN 007298547X.