eBooks are accessible online, and many are available for download or 2 week check out.
Being Good: A Short Introduction to Ethics
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This accessible introduction to ethics continues the trend of Blackburn's best-selling Think. His rare combination of depth, rigor and sparking prose, and his distinguished ranking among contemporary philosophers, mark Being Good as an important statement on our current disenchantment with ethics.
A Concise Introduction to Logic
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A Concise Introduction to Logic is an introduction to formal logic suitable for undergraduates taking a general education course in logic or critical thinking, and is accessible and useful to any interested in gaining a basic understanding of logic. This text takes the unique approach of teaching logic through intellectual history; the author uses examples from important and celebrated arguments in philosophy to illustrate logical principles. The text also includes a basic introduction to findings of advanced logic. As indicators of where the student could go next with logic, the book closes with an overview of advanced topics, such as the axiomatic method, set theory, Peano arithmetic, and modal logic. Throughout, the text uses brief, concise chapters that readers will find easy to read and to review.
Introduction to Philosophy: Logic
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Introduction to Philosophy: Logic provides students with the concepts and skills necessary to identify and evaluate arguments effectively. The chapters, all written by experts in the field, provide an overview of what arguments are, the different types of arguments one can expect to encounter in both philosophy and everyday life, and how to recognize common argumentative mistakes.
The Way of Philosophy : An Introduction
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Philosophy is the quest for a life that is fully alive. Drawing on the insights of philosophers through the ages, The Way of Philosophy clarifies what it means to live life intensely. It exposes the shallowness of conventional wisdom by asking such questions as-Can science know everything?-Should we do it if it feels good?-Is beauty in the eye of the beholder?-Is life about creating ourselves?-Is love supposed to be selfless?-Can we ignore death?-If God exists, why is he hiding? Philosophers invite us to go down deep and live a life in light of truth, goodness, and beauty. If we tread this path, we can discover for ourselves the hidden source of the philosophical life in the unending wellspring of wonder.
Full text eJournals are searchable through the library catalog or on the eJournals page.
Circulating books may be checked out in 3 week intervals.
The Basics of Western Philosophy
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The Basics of Western Philosophy is an introductory work for students and the general reader. The book is divided into two parts. Part I examines the process of philosophical discourse, including discussions of some of its greatest practitioners, elementary techniques of logical analysis, and a sketch of the history of philosophy from its earliest beginnings among the ancient Greeks to the current day. Part II considers the major problems of philosophy: metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, social philosophy, philosophy of religion, and philosophical anthropology. Each chapter focuses on a set of philosophical concepts that are central to a specific idea in philosophy, while offering insights into philosophical questions relevant to the central problem. The ideas of the great philosophers regarding that problem are presented in detail and subjected to analysis and criticism. Frequent sidebars contain background information or capsule biographies of the philosophers. Included are an extensive bibliography, an index, illustrations, and a timeline that marks the dates of philosophers and schools of philosophy in each era.
Eastern Philosophy: the Basics
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Eastern Philosophy: The Basics is an essential introduction to major Indian and Chinese philosophies, both past and present. Exploring familiar metaphysical and ethical questions from the perspectives offered by a range of eastern philosophies, including Confucianism, Daoism, the main Buddhist and Hindu philosophical schools, as well as Jainism, this book covers key figures, issues, methods and concepts. Questions discussed include: What is the 'self'? Is human nature inherently good or bad? How is the mind related to the world? How can you live an authentic life? What is the fundamental nature of reality? With timelines highlighting key figures and their contributions, a list of useful websites, pronunciation guides and further reading suggestions, Eastern Philosophy: The Basics provides an engaging overview of fundamental ideas in eastern philosophy. The second edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to take account of the most recent scholarship. It includes study questions for each chapter, an updated bibliography, a new section on the Yijing and expanded discussion of Indian philosophies and their basis in experience. Eastern Philosophy: The Basics is valuable reading for all students of philosophy and religion, especially those seeking to understand eastern thought.
Ethics: The Fundamentals
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Ethics: The Fundamentals explores core ideas and arguments in moral theory by introducing students to different philosophical approaches to ethics, including virtue ethics, Kantian ethics, divine command theory, and feminist ethics. Presents lively, real-world examples and thoughtful discussion of key moral philosophers and their ideas. Constitutes an excellent resource for readers coming to the subject of ethics for the first time.
Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings
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Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings is a topically-organized introductory anthology. Presenting opposing arguments on a variety of issues, its 84 selections represent some of Western philosophy's leading contributions across five major areas: theory of knowledge, philosophy of religion, philosophy of mind, free will and determinism, and moral philosophy. Louis P. Pojman and new co-editor James Fieser introduce each of these areas, their subsections, and each of the readings, providing background information and summarizing key themes. Beginning with the opening section, "What Is Philosophy?" they bring forth a compelling sampling of classical material - including selections from Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant - while also highlighting some of philosophy's most influential contemporary work - including selections from Harry Frankfurt, Richard Taylor, John Searle, and Thomas Nagel. Now in its fourth edition, the book features Questions for Further Reflection following each selection, Suggestions for Further Reading, a glossary, two appendices ("How to Read and Write a Philosophy Paper" and "A Little Bit of Logic"), and nine new selections.
I Think, Therefore I Draw: Understanding Philosophy Through Cartoons
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A hilarious new exploration of philosophy through cartoons from the duo who brought you the New York Times bestselling Plato and a Platypus Walk Into A Bar...Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klien have been thinking deep thoughts and writing jokes for decades, and now they are here to help us understand Philosophy through cartoons, and cartoons through Philosophy. Covering topics as diverse as religion, gender, knowledge, morality, and the meaning of life (or the lack thereof), I Think, Therefore I Draw gives a thorough introduction to all of the major debates in philosophy through history and the present. And since they explain with the help of a selection of some of the smartest cartoonists working today, you'll breeze through these weighty topics as you guffaw and slap your knee. Cathcart and Klein's Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar... and Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates have been a favorite of philosophers and non-philosophers alike for years. Packed with dozens of witty cartoons and loaded with profound philosophical insight, I Think, Therefore I Draw will delight readers and leave them enlightened.
What Do Philosophers Do? : Skepticism and the Practice of Philosophy
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How do you know the world around you isn't just an elaborate dream, or the creation of an evil neuroscientist? If all you have to go on are various lights, sounds, smells, tastes and tickles, how can you know what the world is really like, or even whether there is a world beyond your own mind? Questions like these - familiar from science fiction and dorm room debates - lie at the core of venerable philosophical arguments for radical skepticism: the stark contention that we in fact know nothing at all about the world, that we have no more reason to believe any claim - that there are trees, that we have hands - than we have to disbelieve it. Like non-philosophers in their sober moments, philosophers, too, find this skeptical conclusion preposterous, but they're faced with those famous arguments: the Dream Argument, the Argument from Illusion, the Infinite Regress of Justification, the more recent Closure Argument. If these can't be met, they raise a serious challenge not just to philosophers, but to anyone responsible enough to expect her beliefs to square with her evidence. What Do Philosophers Do? takes up the skeptical arguments from this everyday point of view, and ultimately concludes that they don't undermine our ordinary beliefs or our ordinary ways of finding out about the world. In the process, Maddy examines and evaluates a range of philosophical methods -common sense, scientific naturalism, ordinary language, conceptual analysis, therapeutic approaches - as employed by such philosophers as Thomas Reid, G. E. Moore, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and J. L. Austin. The result is a revealing portrait of what philosophers do, and perhaps a quiet suggestion for what they should do, for what they do best.
What Is Philosophy of Religion?
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An important part of philosophy is concerned with religious questions. What is the meaning of life, and how might religious faith or doubt impact such meaning? What is the evidence for the existence of God? Is evidence essential for religious faith? What is the relationship between science and religion? What is the relationship between religions? How can or should one assess virtues and vices, right and wrong, from a religious versus a secular point of view? In this beginner's guide, Charles Taliaferro addresses these and other important questions involved in philosophy of religion. He challenges the negative, often complacent attitudes towards religion as being dangerous or merely superstitious, arguing instead for a healthy pluralism and respect between persons of faith and secular inquirers. What is Philosophy of Religion? takes a practical, question-based approach to the subject, inviting the reader to engage with this exciting area of philosophy in a down-to-earth way.
Books from the reference section are available for in library use, or are available for online viewing.
The Blackwell Dictionary of Western Philosophy
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The Blackwell Dictionary of Western Philosophy. The style is fresh and engaging, and it gives a broad and accurate picture of the western philosophical tradition. It is a pleasure to browse in, even if one is not looking for an answer to a particular question. David Pears Its entries manage to avoid the obscurities of an exaggerated brevity without stretching themselves out, as if seeking to embody whole miniature essays. In short it presents itself as a model of clarity and clarification. Alan Montefiore
Encyclopedia of Ethics
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When is it okay to lie? What does it mean to have a "strong moral fiber?" What forces shape a society's standards of right and wrong? Ranging from philosophical and theoretical ethics to applied ethics, Encyclopedia of Ethics covers people, events, terms, ideas, works, and movements from a global perspective. Appropriate for students and general readers alike, this one-volume, A-to-Z reference source provides the working vocabulary needed to tackle the ideas of ethical thinking, particularly the building of a personal moral compass and the evaluation of the laws and customs of any society or institution.
Ideas That Matter: The Concepts That Shape the 21st Century
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