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[Ebook PDF] Exploring Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology, 6th Edition
ISBN-13: 978-0190674335
ISBN-10: 0190674334
Author: Steven M. Cahn (Author)
In Exploring Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology, Steven M. Cahn brings together exceptionally clear recent essays by noted philosophers and supplements them with influential historical sources. Most importantly, the articles have been carefully edited to make them understandable to every
reader. The readings are enhanced by concise introductions, study questions, explanatory notes, and suggestions for further reading. Reflecting the major role of women in philosophy today, more than 1/4 of the contemporary essays are authored by women. The sixth edition features a new section on
Asian Outlooks, with essays on Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Zen Buddhism.
PREFACE
Those who begin the study of philosophy may easily become discouraged. Many classic texts are daunting in their complexity, and much contemporary writing is intended primarily for a professional audience.
A few prominent philosophers of our day write in a style understandable by all, but nonspecialists are often left unaware of this work. They may never realize that serious discussion of central problems of philosophy can proceed without arcane terminology, unexplained references, or convoluted arguments.
The guiding principle of this book is that reading clear, concise essays by recent philosophers offers an inviting avenue to understanding philosophical inquiry. While some of the articles are reprinted in their entirety, many are shortened to sharpen their focus and increase their accessibility. For readers who wish to understand the development of philosophical inquiry over the centuries, I have included a substantial number of historical sources, including without abridgement Plato’s Defence of Socrates and Crito, as well as substantial segments from his Republic, Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy, and Hume’s An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding and his Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. Most of these are identified by the name of the work from which the selection is drawn, while with regard to some of the recent essays, I have taken the liberty of developing short, descriptive titles.
NEW TO THIS EDITION
• A section devoted to Asian Outlooks.
• New essays on reasoning, egoism, virtue ethics, world hunger, aesthetic concepts, interpretation, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Zen Buddhism.
• An expansion of Christine Vitrano’s essay on meaningful lives.
• Over one-quarter of the contemporary essays are authored by women.
READINGS ADDED TO THE NEW EDITION
Steven M. Cahn, Patricia Kitcher, and George Sher, “The Elements of Argument”
Ray Billington, “The Tao”
Julia Driver, “Virtue Ethics”
Christopher W. Gowans, “The Buddha’s Message”
Sallie McFague, “Speaking in Parables”
James Rachels, “Egoism and Moral Skepticism”
Henry Rosemont, Jr., “The Confucian Way”
Frank Sibley, “Aesthetic Concepts”
Travis Timmerman, “A Reply to Singer”
Twelve Zen Stories
Omitted after inclusion in the previous edition are selections by Scott F. Aikin and Robert B. Talisse, Gillian Barker and Philip Kitcher, Morris R. Cohen and Ernest Nagel, Carl Cohen, Marcia M. Eaton, Philippa Foot, Harry G. Frankurt, Karen Hanson, Grace M. Jantzen, David Lewis, Bernard Mayo, Robert McKim, Anne C. Minas, Terence Penelhum, Wesley C. Salmon, Amartya Sen, L. Susan Stebbing, Eleonore Stump, Laurence Thomas, Susan Wolf, Celia Wolf-Devine, Iris Marion
Young, two by Charles L. Stevenson, and one by the editor.
INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL
AND COMPANION WEBSITE
An Instructor’s Manual and Companion Website (www.oup.com/us/cahn) for both Instructors and Students accompany Exploring Philosophy. The Instructor’s Manual features PowerPoint lecture outlines, reading summaries, a glossary, and a Test Bank of objective and essay questions. A link to the instructor materials can be found on the Companion Website along with student resources such as self-test
questions with answers, suggested readings, and helpful web links.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am grateful to my editor, Robert Miller, for his continuing support and sound advice. I also wish to thank associate editor Alyssa Palazzo and production editor Marianne Paul for their generous help, as well as numerous other members of the staff at Oxford University Press for their thoughtful assistance throughout production.
In planning this new edition I have been guided in part by suggestions from reviewers chosen by the Press. I would like to thank them individually:
Carol Enns, College of the Sequoias
Carey Ford, Navarro College, Corsicana
Brent Franklin, Rowan College at Burlington County
Justin Garson, Hunter College, CUNY
Samuel LiPuma, Cuyahoga Community College
Joel E. Mann, St. Norbert College
Matthew Pianalto, Eastern Kentucky University
Timothy Torgerson, University of Wisconsin, Superior
Sandra Woien, Arizona State University
My editorial commentary reflects, as usual, stylistic pointers offered by my brother, Victor L. Cahn, playwright, critic, and Professor Emeritus of English at Skidmore College. The title of this book was originally proposed by my wife, Marilyn Ross, MD, to whom I owe so much more.
NOTE
Some of the materials throughout the book were written when the custom was to use the noun “man” and the pronoun “he” to refer to all persons, regardless of sex, and I have retained the author’s original wording. With this proviso, let us embark on exploring philosophy.
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