Philosophy: The Quest For Truth - Softcover

Louis P. Pojman; Lewis Vaughn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 019975179X ISBN 13: 9780199751792

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2012

Synopsis

Praised for its unique combination of accessibility and comprehensiveness, Philosophy: The Quest for Truth is one of the best-selling textbooks for the introduction to philosophy course. Now in its eighth edition, this acclaimed text provides an excellent selection of eighty-nine classical and contemporary readings on nineteen key problems in philosophy. Coeditors Louis P. Pojman and Lewis Vaughn have carefully organized the essays so that they present pro/con dialogues that allow students to compare and contrast the philosophers' positions. Topics covered include the nature of philosophy, logic, the existence of God, immortality, knowledge, the mind-body question, personal identity, free will and determinism, ethics, political philosophy, the meaning of life, abortion, capital punishment, global ethics, and animal rights. Each of the eighty-nine readings is accompanied by study questions, end-of-reading reflective questions, and an individual introduction featuring a biographical sketch of the philosopher. A detailed glossary of key terms and an appendix on reading and writing philosophy papers--both revised and updated in this edition--further enhance the text's pedagogical value. In addition, each major section opens with a substantial introduction and ends with a short bibliography.

NEW TO THIS EDITION:

* Eleven new selections from Plato, David Hume, Wesley C. Salmon, Ned Block, Buddhist scripture, Peter van Inwagen, Louis P. Pojman, Virginia Held, Julian Baggini, Peter Singer, and Garrett Hardin
* Two new sections: "Induction" in Part III: Knowledge and "Do We Have Obligations to the Poor and Hungry?" in Part IX: Contemporary Moral Problems
* An expanded "A Little Bit of Logic" section that offers students more help in identifying and evaluating arguments
* Boldfaced key terms, listed at the end of most parts and collected and defined in the fully revised glossary
* A revised and expanded appendix on "How to Read and Write Philosophy Papers"
* A Time Line highlighting the philosophers included in the text

An Instructor's Manual and Test Bank on CD includes sample syllabi, selection summaries, a list of key terms with definitions, helpful web links, and multiple-choice, true/false, and essay questions on each reading. A Companion Website at www.oup.com/us/pojman contains the material from the Instructor's Manual along with student resources including essay questions, interactive quizzes, flashcards, and additional web links.

About this title

About the Author:

The late Louis P. Pojman was Professor of Philosophy at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He is the author or editor of more than thirty books including Classics of Philosophy, Third Edition (OUP, 2010) and The Moral Life, Fourth Edition (OUP, 2010).

Lewis Vaughn is the author or coauthor of several books, including Contemporary Moral Arguments (OUP, 2010), The Power of Critical Thinking, Third Edition (OUP, 2009), Doing Philosophy, Fourth Edition (2009), Bioethics (OUP, 2008), and Writing Philosophy (OUP, 2005).

Review:

"For more than a decade, this is the only introductory text that I have used. I would not have remained faithful to it if I didn't believe it to be an excellent collection of problems and responses. It's the best available text for the type of introductory course that I want to offer our beginning students."--H. Scott Hestevold, The University of Alabama

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 019975179X
• ISBN 13: 9780199751792
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 748