Author Description

Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings, Third Edition, is a highly acclaimed, topically organized collection that covers five major areas of philosophy--theory of knowledge, philosophy of religion, philosophy of mind, freedom and determinism, and moral philosophy. Editor Louis P. Pojman enhances the text's topical organization by arranging the selections into a pro/con format to help students better understand opposing arguments. He also includes accessible introductions to each part, subsection, and individual reading, a unique feature for an anthology of this depth. While the book focuses on a compelling sampling of classical material--including selections from Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant--it also incorporates some of philosophy's best twentieth-century and contemporary work, featuring articles by Bertrand Russell, Richard Taylor, John Searle, Thomas Nagel, and others.This third edition contains an expanded glossary, more extensive section introductions, and twelve new selections:Karl Popper: "Epistemology without a Knowing Subject"Richard Rorty: "Dismantling Truth: Solidarity versus Objectivity"Daniel Dennett: "Postmodernism and Truth"Bruce Russell: "The Problem of Evil: Why is There So Much Suffering?"David Chalmers: "Against Materialism: Can Consciousness Be Reductively Explained?"Baron Paul Henri d'Holbach: "A Defense of Determinism"Michael Levin: "A Compatibilist Defense of Moral Responsibility"Plato: "Socratic Morality: Crito"Herodotus: "Custom Is King"J. L. Mackie: "The Subjectivity of Values"Louis P. Pojman: "A Critique of Mackie's Theory of Moral Subjectivism"Thomas Nagel: "Moral Luck"