The concise edition of The Broadview Introduction to Philosophy offers 45 historical and contemporary readings on core topics in Western philosophy, including philosophy of religion, theories of knowledge, metaphysics, ethics, social-political philosophy, and issues of life, death, and happiness. Unlike other introductory anthologies, the Broadview offers considerable apparatus to assist the student reader in understanding the texts without simply summarizing them. Each selection includes an introduction discussing the context and structure of the primary reading, as well as thorough annotations designed to clarify unfamiliar terms, references, and argument forms. Canonical texts from the history of philosophy are presented alongside contemporary scholarship; women authors are included throughout.
Comments
Comments on The Broadview Introduction to Philosophy
“The Broadview Introduction to Philosophy is an outstanding text for introductory philosophy courses. It contains a wonderful collection of readings. Moreover, the editor provides highly informative introductions to the readings.” — Marc Ereshefsky, University of Calgary
“The Broadview Introduction to Philosophy is a carefully curated collection of classic and contemporary philosophical texts. In this volume, Bailey attains a more equitable representation of philosophers than is typical of most introductory philosophy anthologies, and his inclusion of additional materials—useful introductions, descriptions of overall projects, and background information—makes this anthology ideal for students in today’s introductory courses.” — Andrea Sullivan-Clarke, University of Windsor
“The Broadview Introduction to Philosophy offers helpful contextualization and clarification of its readings, along with overviews of how particular arguments fit into larger discussions. But it also offers something more. Blending the ‘canon’ with the new—in terms of both the issues raised and the voices raising them—this anthology offers a compelling answer to the perennial question in introductory courses: Why should I care about philosophy? Because it matters.” — Brynn Welch, University of Alabama at Birmingham
“The Broadview Introduction to Philosophy is a very useful collection, as it initiates questions in metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics out of considerations in the philosophy of religion. This is a compelling way to help students start philosophizing.” — Scott F. Aikin, Vanderbilt University
How to Use This Book
Introduction
- What Is Philosophy?
- A Brief Introduction to Arguments
- Introductory Tips on Reading and Writing Philosophy
Part I: Philosophy of Religion
- Does God Exist?
- St. Anselm of Canterbury
- Proslogion, Preface and Chapters 2–5;
- Pro Insipiente (“On Behalf of the Fool”) by Gaunilo of Marmoutiers;
- Anselm’s Reply to Gaunilo
- St. Thomas Aquinas
- Summa Theologiae, Part I, Question 2: Does God Exist?
- William Paley
- Gottfried Leibniz
- Theodicy: Abridgment of the Argument Reduced to Syllogistic Form
- J.L. Mackie
- Blaise Pascal
- “The Wager,” from Pensées
- William K. Clifford
- William James
Part II: Theory of Knowledge
- Is the External World the Way It Appears to Be?
- Plato
- “The Allegory of the Cave”
- René Descartes
- Meditations on First Philosophy
- John Locke
- from An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
- Edmund L. Gettier
- “Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?”
- Jennifer Saul
- “Scepticism and Implicit Bias”
- Helen Longino
- “Can There Be a Feminist Science?”
Part III: Metaphysics
- Philosophy of Mind
- Thomas Nagel
- “What Is It Like to Be a Bat?”
- David Chalmers
- “The Puzzle of Conscious Experience”
- Amy Kind
- “How to Believe in Qualia”
- Free Will
- Paul Rée
- from The Illusion of Free Will, Chapters 1 and 2
- Ishtiyaque Haji
- from Incompatibilism’s Allure
- Harry G. Frankfurt
- “Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility”
- Personal Identity
- John Locke
- from An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
- Daniel C. Dennett
- Derek Parfit
Part IV: Ethics
- How Ought we to Live Our Lives?
- Plato
- from Republic and Euthyphro
- Aristotle
- Immanuel Kant
- from Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals
- John Stuart Mill
- Virginia Held
- “Feminist Transformations of Moral Theory”
- Judith Jarvis Thomson
Part V: Social-Political Philosophy
- Justice
- Thomas Hobbes
- from Leviathan, Parts I–II
- John Stuart Mill
- Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
- from The Communist Manifesto
- John Rawls
- from Justice as Fairness: A Restatement
- Robert Nozick
- from Anarchy, State, and Utopia
- Susan Moller Okin
- Equality and Fairness
- Mary Wollstonecraft
- from A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
- Simone de Beauvoir
- from The Second Sex, Introduction
- Talia Mae Bettcher
- “Trans Women and the Meaning of ‘Woman’”
- Iris Marion Young
- “Five Faces of Oppression”
- Kwame Anthony Appiah
- “How to Decide If Races Exist”
- Ta-Nehisi Coates
- from Between the World and Me
Part VI: Life, Death, and Happiness
- What Is the Meaning of Life?
- Epictetus
- A.J. Ayer
- “The Claims of Philosophy”
- Albert Camus
- from The Myth of Sisyphus
- Kathy Behrendt
- “Reasons to Live versus Reasons Not to Die”
Andrew Bailey is Professor of Philosophy and Associate Dean of Arts at the University of Guelph.
