Simply Philosophy

Description:

Understanding philosophy has never been easier. Combining bold graphics with easy-to-understand text, Simply Philosophy is the perfect introduction to the subject for those who are short on time but hungry for knowledge. Covering more than 80 key philosophical ideas from ethics to epistemology, each pared-back, single-page entry explains the concept more clearly than ever before. Organized by major philosophical themes--metaphysics, epistemology, the philosophy of mind, ethics, and political philosophy--entries demystify the groundbreaking ideas and theories of famous philosophers from Plato to Kant and Nietzsche to Wittgenstein, explaining the essential ideas of each key philosophical school and tradition. Whether you are studying philosophy at school or college, or simply want a jargon-free overview of the subject, this essential guide is packed with everything you need to understand the basics quickly and easily.

Table of Contents:

INTRODUCTION

THINKING ABOUT THE WORLD

ABANDONING MYTH

A SINGLE SOURCE

AN UNKNOWABLE ORIGIN

NUMBERS RULE

EVERYTHING FLOWS

CHANGE IS IMPOSSIBLE

THE SHIP OF THESEUS

ETERNAL ATOMS

A REALM OF IDEAS

A SHADOW WORLD

EARTHLY FORMS

THE NATURE OF THINGS

EVERYTHING HAS A PURPOSE

THE UNMOVED MOVER

DIVINE CAUSES

THE FLOATING MAN

DOES GOD EXIST?

ARE RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY COMPATIBLE?

GENERAL IDEAS

THE CLOCKWORK WORLD

A UNIVERSE OF MINDS

I THINK, THEREFORE I AM

REALITY IS SPLIT IN TWO

TRUTHS OF REASON

PEOPLE ARE BORN WITH IDEAS

TRUTHS OF EXPERIENCE

ALL KNOWLEDGE IS LEARNED

ONLY IDEAS EXIST

THERE IS NO EXTERNAL WORLD

QUESTIONING SCIENCE

HUME’S FORK

TWO KINDS OF KNOWLEDGE

TWO KINDS OF STATEMENT

OUR MINDS SHAPE THE WORLD

THINGS IN THEMSELVES

THE WORLD IS SPIRIT

REALITY IS A PROCESS

AN INNER DRIVE

GOD IS DEAD

TRUTH AND USEFULNESS

IDEAS AS TOOLS

BEING AND LANGUAGE

WHAT DO WE MEAN?

TAKING LANGUAGE APART

TRUTH AND MEANING

PICTURING THE WORLD

THE USE OF WORDS

PRIVATE LANGUAGE IS IMPOSSIBLE

THE MEANING OF “I”

ARE ALL SWANS WHITE?

CONSCIOUSNESS IS INTENTIONAL

STUDYING CONSCIOUSNESS

BEING AND TIME

ABSURDITY AND ANXIETY

UNDERSTANDING IS CIRCULAR

DEFINING FEMININITY

GENDER IS A PERFORMANCE

THE DEATH OF MAN

MEANING IS DIFFERENCE

MEANING IS NOT FIXED

THERE IS NO OUTSIDE-TEXT

LOCAL TRUTHS

SCIENCE ADAPTS

MIND AND MATTER

MIND AND BODY

THE WORLD IS CAUSALLY COMPLETE

THE HELPLESS MIND

HUMAN OR ZOMBIE?

IMMEDIATE EXPERIENCE

QUESTIONING QUALIA

BODY LANGUAGE

THE MIND IS THE BRAIN

THE MIND AS MYTH

CAN A MACHINE THINK?

HUMAN UNDERSTANDING

COGS IN A HIGHER MACHINE

AN UNSOLVABLE MYSTERY

RIGHT AND WRONG

WORDS AND ACTIONS

THE VIRTUOUS LIFE

THE EIGHTFOLD PATH

FIVE CONSTANT VIRTUES

A MORAL OUTCOME

A MORAL LAW

THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE

HAPPY IS THE SAME AS GOOD

THE GREATEST GOOD

THE GAP BETWEEN “IS” AND “OUGHT”

THE BOO-HOORAY THEORY

ONE RULE FOR ALL

GOOD IS ONLY GOOD

VALUES ARE UNIVERSAL

VALUES ARE SUBJECTIVE

FATE OR FREE CHOICE?

THE ORIGIN OF MORAL VALUES

BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL

MORAL CHOICE

REAL-WORLD ETHICS

THE SUFFERING OF ANIMALS

DEEP ECOLOGY

POLITICS AND POWER

WISE LEADERS

WAYS OF RULING

CHOSEN BY HEAVEN

STRICT CONTROL

CHAOS IS WORSE THAN TYRANNY

PROTECTING NATURAL RIGHTS

RULE BY THE PEOPLE

THE MARKET KNOWS BEST

CLASS CONFLICT

A WORKERS’ SOCIETY

FALSE CONSCIOUSNESS

“NORMAL” PEOPLE

CONTROLLED BY THE STATE

PSYCHES OF THE OPPRESSED

ABOLISH THE GOVERNMENT

JUSTIFYING THE STATE

JUSTICE AS FAIRNESS

JUSTICE AS FREEDOM

EQUALITY OF THE SEXES

INFINITE IDENTITIES

LOGIC AND ARGUMENT

QUESTIONING ANSWERS

THE SYLLOGISM

A LOGICAL CONCLUSION

A PROBABLE CONCLUSION

EVALUATING ARGUMENTS

SPOTTING BAD ARGUMENTS

EXAMINING EVIDENCE

THE LOGIC OF SIMPLICITY

LOGICAL STRUCTURES

USING QUANTIFIERS

INDEX