Table Of Content

Cover page Page: i Halftitle page Page: i Series page Page: ii Title page Page: x Copyright page Page: xii Contents Page: xiii List of illustrations Page: xv Chapter 1. Philosophy: a very short introduction Page: xvi Chapter 2. What should I do? Plato’s Crito Page: 10 Chapter 3. How do we know? Hume’s Of Miracles Page: 23 Chapter 4. What am I? An unknown Buddhist on the self: King Milinda’s chariot Page: 34 Chapter 5. Some themes Page: 44 Ethical consequentialism Page: 45 Integrity Page: 49 Political authority—the contract theory Page: 50 Evidence and rationality Page: 53 The self Page: 56 Philosophy and historical context Page: 58 Chapter 6. Of ‘isms’ Page: 61 Chapter 7. Some more high spots: a personal selection Page: 74 Descartes: Discourse on the Method Page: 75 Hegel: Introduction to the Philosophy of History Page: 82 Charles Darwin: The Origin of Species Page: 88 Nietzsche: The Genealogy of Morals Page: 94 Chapter 8. Freedom of the will Page: 100 Descartes Page: 101 Hegel Page: 105 Determinism Page: 107 Compatibilism Page: 110 Chapter 9. What’s in it for whom? Page: 113 The individual Page: 115 The State Page: 118 The priesthood Page: 119 The working classes Page: 123 Women Page: 125 Animals Page: 128 Professional philosophers Page: 130 References Page: 133 Further reading Page: 137 Index Page: 141 Existentialism Page: 149 German Philosophy Page: 150 Thomas Aquinas Page: 151 Keynes Page: 152

Description:

How ought we to live? What really exists? How do we know? This Very Short Introduction discusses some of the key questions philosophy engages with. Edward Craig explores important themes in ethics, and the nature of knowledge and the self, through readings from Plato, Hume, Descartes, Hegel, Darwin, and Buddhist writers. Throughout, he emphasizes why we do phiilosophy, explains how different areas of philosophy are related, and explores the contexts in which philosophy was and is done. This new edition includes a new chapter on free will, discussing determinism and indeterminism in the context of Descartes and Hegel's work. Craig also covers the Problem of Evil, and Kant's argument on the source of moral obligation. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.