[Made Simple 01] • Philosophy Made Simple by Popkin, Richard H. -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Preface Introduction: What is philosophy? Chapter 1: Ethics

The definition of “ethics” Ethics originates in everyday life Classification of ethical theories Classical theories

Platonism Aristotle: the doctrine of the mean Hedonism: the philosophy of Epicurus Cynicism Stoicism Christian ethics The philosophy of Spinoza Utilitarianism: Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill Kantian ethics

Modern ethics

Definition of “modern ethics” Subjectivism and objectivism (moral realism) Naturalism, nonnaturalism, and emotivism Motivist, consequence, and deontological theories Analysis of subjectivism and objectivism Applied ethics Suggested further reading

Chapter 2: Political philosophy

Definition of “political philosophy” Plato’s political philosophy The political philosophy of Thomas Hobbes The political philosophy of John Locke The political philosophy of John Stuart Mill The political philosophy of Karl Marx Contemporary political theory Suggested further reading

Chapter 3: Metaphysics

What is metaphysics? Pluralism and monism Scope of metaphysics The problem of permanence and change The mind-body problem The problem of free will and determinism Types of metaphysical systems Some criticisms of metaphysics Suggested further reading

Chapter 4: Philosophy of religion

Philosophy and religion The problem of religious knowledge Natural and revealed religion Hume’s argument The cosmological (or causal) argument The ontological argument Conclusions The problem of the nature of God Suggested further reading

Chapter 5: The theory of knowledge

René Descartes: the problem posed The problem of knowledge: a closer look Ancient Greek philosophy Plato Socrates’s theory of universal forms The philosopher-king Descartes’s theory of knowledge The argument for objective reality Rationalist theories of knowledge Empirical philosophy John Locke Bishop George Berkeley David Hume Summary of the empirical theory of knowledge The empiricist critique of rationalism Summary Suggested further reading

Chapter 6: Logic

The definition of “logic” Deductive and inductive logic Deductive logic: the syllogism The terminology of logic Affirmative and negative propositions Universal, particular, and singular propositions The four standard propositions of logic The distribution of terms Middle, major, and minor terms Rules for determining validity and invalidity Translating ordinary into logical sentences Equivalent sentences Obversion Conversion Contraposition Fallacies Logic, semiotics, and semantics Summary Answers to exercises Suggested further reading

Chapter 7: Contemporary philosophy

Pragmatism The pluralistic universe Instrumentalism Some criticisms of pragmatism Philosophical analysis Logical atomism: The philosophy of Bertrand Russell and the early Ludwig Wittgenstein Logical positivism: Schlick, Carnap, Ayer Ordinary language philosophy: Moore and the later Wittgenstein Existentialism and phenomenology Søren Kierkegaard Contemporary existentialism Deconstructionism Rorty Conclusion Suggested further reading