This college course, an Introduction to Philosophy, is not a history of the great philosophers and their systems. It is not a survey of the traditional divisions of philosophy--metaphysics, epistemology, phenomenology, ethics, politics, and aesthetics. It is, however, a process of doing philosophy that takes up some of the basic questions and problems that we will all encounter in life--sooner or later. It is also an application of the Socratic method of teaching and learning that develop habits of independent, critical, and reflective thinking. It is a series of Socratic seminars on the Great Books by the greatest faculty of the Western world and a process that illustrates how to pass from the world of work, need, and empirical science into "the world of all things" (beings) that Being provides.
Revised and updated with 25 new essays, the fourth edition of this bestselling collection brings together more than 30 leaders in the field of educational theory. An engaging exploration of the ideas and trends shaping education in today's classrooms, Philosophy of Education includes topics on high-stakes testing, consumerism in education, and social justice issues in the classroom. How can we teach students moral values while avoiding indoctrination? How should a teacher deal with controversial issues in the classroom? What role should standards play in education, and who develops those standards? And why is the link between theory and practice in the classroom important in the first place? Philosophy of Education provides students, teachers, and administrators with a lively and accessible introduction to the central debates and issues in education today.
Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings, Fifth Edition, is the most comprehensive topically organized collection of classical and contemporary philosophy available. Building on the exceptionally successful tradition of previous editions, the fifth edition presents seventy substantial selections from the best and most influential works in philosophy. Revised and updated to make it more pedagogical, this edition incorporates boldfaced key terms; a guide to writing philosophy papers; and a "Logical Toolkit," which lists and explains common terminology used in philosophical reasoning. This edition also features five new readings and a separate section on existential issues.
Written for any readers interested in better harnessing philosophy’s real value, this book covers a broad range of fundamental philosophical problems and certain intellectual techniques for addressing those problems. In Introducing Philosophy: God, Mind, World, and Logic, Neil Tennant helps any student in pursuit of a ‘big picture’ to think independently, question received dogma, and analyse problems incisively. It also connects philosophy to other areas of study at the university, enabling all students to employ the concepts and techniques of this millennia-old discipline throughout their college careers – and beyond. KEY FEATURES AND BENEFITS: -- Investigates the philosophy of various subjects (psychology, language, biology, math), helping students contextualize philosophy and view it as an interdisciplinary pursuit; also helps students with majors outside of philosophy to see the relationship between philosophy and their own focused academic pursuits -- Author comes from a distinguished background in Logic and Philosophy of Language, which gives the book a level of rigor, balance, and analytic focus sometimes missing from primers to philosophy -- Introduces students to various important philosophical distinctions (e.g. fact vs. value, descriptive vs. prescriptive, norms vs. laws of nature, analytic vs. synthetic, inductive vs. deductive, a priori vs. a posteriori) providing skills that are important for undergraduates to develop in order to inform their study at higher levels. They are essential for further work in philosophy but they are also very beneficial for students pursuing most other disciplines -- Is much more methodologically comprehensive than competing introductions, giving the student the ability to address a wide range of philosophical problems – and not just the ones reviewed in the book -- Offers a companion website with links to apt primary sources, organized chapter-by-chapter, making unnecessary a separate Reader/Anthology of primary sources – thus providing students with all reading material necessary for the course -- Provides five to ten discussion questions for each chapter, helping instructors and students better interact with the ideas and concepts in the text
The Philosophy of Education: An Introduction encourages the reader to actively engage with the philosophy of education and the carefully selected contributors bring the philosophy of education to life for the reader. Each chapter: focuses on a particular area of debate and explains the main concepts includes extracts from philosophical writing, followed by questions that guide the reader to critically and actively engage with the text guides the reader towards further reading and suggests next steps and more challenging sources or counter-pointed arguments. The Philosophy of Education: An Introduction is essential reading for education students and for trainee teachers on undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. It will also appeal to practicing teachers and educationalists who wish to engage with philosophical approaches to contemporary educational issues.
THIS IS PHILOSOPHY “The second edition of This is Philosophy improves upon an excellent first edition. This clear, succinct book is quite possibly the best introduction to Western philosophy on the market.” —Gregory Morgan, Stevens Institute of Technology “This is a terrific book. The writing is not only extremely clear, it is downright gripping—with relevant and detailed examples at every turn. Steven Hales has produced not just a great little introduction to philosophy—he has produced a great little book in philosophy, period.” —Michael Lynch, University of Connecticut “Hales clearly explains important philosophical ideas with a minimum of jargon and without sacrificing depth of content and he consistently gives a fair and accurate presentation of both sides of central philosophical disputes.” —Matthew Van Cleave, Teaching Philosophy As the oldest discipline in the academy, philosophy began by asking questions of the world and of human nature. Philosophers are responsible for the Enlightenment and laid the foundations for constitutional governments. Yet, while it may have given birth to the natural sciences, philosophy has earned a contemporary reputation as an esoteric and impractical field out of touch with everyday life—but it doesn’t have to be that way. This is Philosophy: An Introduction expertly guides students through the fundamentals of philosophy by illuminating difficult, abstract ideas with straightforward language. Assuming no prior background in the subject, this volume brings philosophical concepts into sharp focus through relatable examples and clear explanations of philosophy’s big questions and arguments. The second edition of this accessible textbook is organized around seven central philosophical problems, including ethics, the existence of God, free will, personal identity, philosophy of mind, and epistemology. New to this edition is a chapter on political philosophy that explores the state of nature, anarchy, contractarianism, libertarianism, and the liberal state. These self-contained chapters have been reordered and recalibrated to best suit the needs of introductory philosophy courses, and can be taught independently or in sequence. Enhanced by updated examples, new hyperlinks and references, and detailed bibliographies, the book is complemented by extensively-revised online resources available to instructors, including a 200-question test bank and over 450 PowerPoint slides designed to strengthen student comprehension of key concepts. Strengthening the popular first edition which launched the series, This is Philosophy: An Introduction, Second Edition is the perfect primary textbook for beginning philosophy students as well as general readers with an interest in philosophy.
Richard Eldridge presents a clear and compact survey of philosophical theories of the nature and significance of art. Drawing on materials from classical and contemporary philosophy as well as from literary theory and art criticism, he explores the representational, expressive, and formal dimensions of art, and he argues that works of art present their subject matter in ways that are of enduring cognitive, moral, and social interest. His accessible study will be invaluable to students and to all readers who are interested in the relation between thought and art.
Philosophy in Education: Questioning and Dialog in K-12 Classrooms is a textbook in the fields of pre-college philosophy and philosophy of education, intended for philosophers and philosophy students, K-12 classroom teachers, administrators and educators, policymakers, and pre-college practitioners of all kinds. The book offers a wealth of practical resources for use in elementary, middle school, and high school classrooms, as well as consideration of many of the broader educational, social, and political topics in the field, including the educational value of pre-college philosophy, the philosophies of education that inform this philosophical practice, and the relevance of pre-college philosophy for pressing issues in contemporary education (such as education reform, child development, and prejudice and privilege in classrooms). The book includes sections on: the expansion of philosophy beyond higher education to pre-college populations; the importance of wondering, questioning and reflection in K-12 education; the ways that philosophy is uniquely suited to help students cultivate critical reasoning and independent thinking capacities; how to develop classroom communities of philosophical inquiry and their potentially transformative impact on students; the cultivation of philosophical sensitivity and positive identity formation in childhood; strategies for recognizing and diminishing the impact of social inequalities in classrooms; and the relationship between introducing philosophy in schools and education reform.
"Philosophy of Education" is designed to engage readers with a broad range of contemporary perspectives on significant educational issues, including, pluralism and democracy in education, the problem of indoctrination, the nature and value of critical teaching, controversy in the classroom, and educational standards. In this third edition, it remains the intention of the editors to offer a collection of essays in the philosophy of education which will provide students in teacher education programs with a lively and accessible introduction to some of the central debates and issues in the field. In addition, teachers, administrators and graduate students should find this collection a valuable resource. As with the first and second editions, and given the intended readership, the editors have selected discussions which establish a connection between philosophical reflection and pedagogical practice, in the belief that philosophical understanding is a vital aspect of professional development.
This new textbook is a lively and highly accessible introduction to philosophy. From the fundamental issues of philosophical thought to the latest theories in the philosophy of mind, An Introduction to Philosophy provides clear and incisive discussion of the key areas of philosophy for students new to the subject. Provides the tools new students need to tackle philosophical arguments themselves Clearly presents and explains contemporary issues and current debates Covers the key areas of philosophy, including perception, epistemology, metaphysics, the mind, philosophy of religion, ethics and political philosophy Contains numerous learning features such as introductions, summaries, questions and further reading An Introduction to Philosophy is an ideal text for AS level, A level and first-year undergraduate students or anyone studying the subject for the first time.
