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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.
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Contents Preface About the Third Edition 1. THE LEGACY OF SOCRATES 1.1 Why Was Socrates Condemned? 1.2 Why Did Socrates Believe He Had to Die? 2. GOD AND THE ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE 2.1 Is It Reasonable to Believe in God? 2.2 The Argument from Design 2.3 Evolution and Intelligent Design 2.4 The First Cause Argument 2.5 The Idea That God Is a Necessary Being 3. THE PROBLEM OF EVIL 3.1 Why Do Good People Suffer? 3.2 God and Evil 3.3 Free Will and Moral Character 4. DO WE SURVIVE DEATH? 4.1 The Idea of an Immortal Soul 4.2 Is There Any Credible Evidence of an Afterlife? 4.3 Hume’s Argument against Miracles 5. THE PROBLEM OF PERSONAL IDENTITY 5.1 The Problem 5.2 Personhood at a Time 5.3 Personhood over Time 5.4 Bodily Continuity 5.5 Memory 6. BODY AND MIND 6.1 Descartes and Elizabeth 6.2 Materialist Theories of the Mind 6.3 Doubts about Materialist Theories 7. COULD A MACHINE THINK? 7.1 Brains and Computers 7.2 An Argument That Machines Could Think 7.3 The Turing Test 7.4 Why the Turing Test Fails 8. THE CASE AGAINST FREE WILL 8.1 Are People Responsible for What They Do? 8.2 Determinism 8.3 Psychology 8.4 Genes and Behavior 9. THE DEBATE OVER FREE WILL 9.1 The Determinist Argument 9.2 The Libertarian Response 9.3 The Compatibilist Response 9.4 Ethics and Free Will 10. OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD AROUND US 10.1 Vats and Demons 10.2 Idealism 10.3 What Evidence for These Views Might Be Like 10.4 Descartes’ Theological Response 10.5 Direct vs. Indirect Realism 10.6 Vision and the Brain 10.7 Conclusion 11. ETHICS AND OBJECTIVITY 11.1 Thrasymachus’s Challenge 11.2 Is Ethics Just a Matter of Social Conventions? 11.3 Ethics and Science 11.4 The Importance of Human Interests 12. WHY SHOULD WE BE MORAL? 12.1 The Ring of Gyges 12.2 Ethics and Religion 12.3 The Social Contract 12.4 Morality and Benevolence 13. THE MEANING OF LIFE 13.1 The Problem of the Point of View 13.2 Happiness 13.3 Death 13.4 Religion and the Indifferent Universe 13.5 The Meaning of Particular Lives Appendix: How to Evaluate Arguments Notes on Sources Index - Reviews
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ISBN (10-digit) 0073535893 ISBN 9780073535890 Authors James Rachels, Stuart Rachels Edition 3 Series PHILOSOPHY & RELIGION Previous Edition's ISBN 007338660X Binding Paperback / softback Published 18 Jan 2011 Publication Status BACKLIST Stock Due 30 Dec 2018 Market N/A Division MHHE Review Copy Available Yes Keywords N/A Format Print Availability Type None Blink Division N/A - Request a Review Copy
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