Thinking it through : an introduction to contemporary philosophy / Kwame Anthony Appiah.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Appiah, Anthony

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Philosophy--Introductions.

Philosophy.

Genre:

Introductions.

Physical Description:

xviii, 412 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2003.

Summary:

Here is a thorough, vividly written introduction to contemporary philosophy and some of the most crucial questions of human existence: the nature of mind and knowledge, the status of moral claims, the existence of God, the role of science, and the mysteries of Janguage, among them. In Thinking It Through, esteemed philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah shows us what it means to "do" philosophy in our time and why it should matter to anyone who wishes to live a more thoughtful life. Opposing the common misconceptions that being a philosopher means espousing a set of philosophical beliefs, or being a follower of a particular thinker, Appiah argues that "the result of philosophical exploration is not the end of inquiry in a settled opinion, but a mind resting more comfortably among many possibilities, or else the reframing of the question, and a new inquiry." Thinking It Through is organized around eight central topics -- mind, knowledge, language, science, morality, politics, law, and metaphysics. It traces how philosophers in the past have considered each subject (how Hobbes, Wittgenstein, and Frege, for example, approached the problem of language) and then explores some of the major questions that still engage philosophers today. More important, Appiah shows us not only what philosophers have thought but how they think, giving us examples we might use in our own attempts to navigate the complex issues that confront any reflective person in the 21st century. Filled with concrete examples of how philosophers work and written in the liveliest prose, Thinking It Through guides readers through the process of philosophical reflection and enlarges our understanding of the central questions of human life.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Mind 1

1.2 Descartes: The beginnings of modern philosophy of mind 5

1.3 The private-language argument 12

1.4 Computers as models of the mind 19

1.5 Why should there be a functionalist theory? 22

1.6 Functionalism: A first problem 23

1.7 A simple-minded functionalist theory of pain 25

1.8 Ramsey's solution to the first problem 26

1.9 Functionalism: A second problem 28

1.10 M again 29

1.11 Consciousness 31

1.12 The puzzle of the physical 36

Chapter 2 Knowledge 39

2.2 Plato: Knowledge as justified true belief 41

2.3 Descartes' way: Justification requires certainty 44

2.4 Locke's way: Justification can be less than certain 53

2.5 The foundations of knowledge 57

2.6 Ways around skepticism I: Verificationism 61

2.7 Ways around skepticism II: Causal theories of knowledge 66

2.8 Causal theories contrasted with traditional accounts of justification 70

2.9 Epistemology naturalized 74

Chapter 3 Language 79

3.2 The linguistic turn 80

3.3 The beetle in the box 84

3.4 Frege's "sense" and "reference" 87

3.5 Predicates and open sentences 92

3.6 Problems of intensionality 96

3.7 Truth conditions and possible worlds 99

3.8 Analytic-synthetic and necessary-contingent 102

3.9 Natural language and logical form 106

3.10 Using logic: Truth preservation, probability, and the lottery paradox 113

3.11 Logical truth and logical properties 115

3.12 Conventions of language 117

3.13 The paradox of analysis 120

Chapter 4 Science 127

4.2 Description and prescription 129

4.3 An example: Gregor Mendel's genetic theory 130

4.4 Theory and observation 136

4.5 The received view of theories 141

4.6 The deductive-nomological model of explanation 145

4.7 Theory reduction and instrumentalism 148

4.8 Theory-ladenness 152

4.9 Justifying theories I: The problem of induction 157

4.10 Goodman's new riddle of induction 161

4.11 Justifying theories II: Popper and falsification 163

4.12 Justifying theories III: Inference to the best explanation 167

4.13 Laws and causation 171

Chapter 5 Morality 177

5.2 Facts and values 180

5.3 Realism and emotivism 183

5.4 Intuitionism 187

5.5 Emotivism again 191

5.6 Kant's universalizability principle 197

5.7 Dealing with relativism 201

5.8 Prescriptivism and supervenience 204

5.9 Problems of utilitarianism I: Defining "utility" 205

5.10 Problems of utilitarianism II: Consequentialism versus absolutism 208

5.11 Rights 213

5.12 Self and others 215

Chapter 6 Politics 221

6.2 Hobbes: Escaping the state of nature 224

6.3 Problems for Hobbes 229

6.4 Game theory I: Two-person zero-sum games 232

6.5 Game theory II: The prisoners' dilemma 242

6.6 The limits of prudence 245

6.7 Rawls's theory of justice 248

6.8 The difference principle and inequality surpluses 250

6.9 Criticizing Rawls I: The structure of his argument 252

6.10 Criticizing Rawls II: Why maximin? 254

6.11 Criticizing Rawls III: The status of the two principles 256

6.12 Reflective equilibrium 258

6.13 Are the two principles right? 260

6.14 Nozick: Beginning with rights 261

6.15 The entitlement theory 265

6.16 Ethics and politics 267

Chapter 7 Law 271

7.2 Defining "law" I: Positivism and natural law 275

7.3 Defining "law" II: Legal systems and the variety of laws 278

7.4 Hart: The elements of a legal system 280

7.5 Punishment: The problem 285

7.6 Justifying punishment: Deterrence 286

7.7 Retributivism: Kant's objections 288

7.8 Combining deterrence and retribution 289

7.9 Deterrence theory again 291

7.10 Why do definitions matter? 293

Chapter 8 Metaphysics 299

8.2 An example: The existence of numbers 300

8.3 "God" as a proper name 305

8.4 The necessary being 310

8.5 Hume: No a priori proofs of matters of fact 316

8.6 Kant: "Existence" is not a predicate 317

8.7 A posteriori arguments 322

8.8 The argument from design 324

8.9 The harmony of nature 325

8.10 The necessity of a creative intelligence 329

8.11 Hume's argument from design: The argument from experience 331

8.12 The problem of evil and inference to the best explanation 334

Chapter 9 Philosophy 339

9.2 Traditional thought 341

9.3 Arguing with the Azande 344

9.4 The significance of literacy 349

9.5 Cognitive relativism 353

9.6 The argument against strong relativism 355

9.7 The argument for weak relativism 357

9.8 Philosophy and religion 360

9.9 Philosophy and science 364

9.10 An example: Free will and determinism 365

9.11 Compatibilism and moral responsibility 373

9.12 The special character of philosophy 377.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 381-391) and index.

ISBN:

0195160282

OCLC:

50347876