Philosophy: The Quest for Truth

By Lewis Vaughn and Louis P. Pojman

Book Overview

Praised for its accessibility and comprehensiveness, Philosophy: The Quest for Truth provides an excellent selection of classical and contemporary readings on nineteen key problems in philosophy. Louis P. Pojman has carefully organized the essays in each section so that they present pro/con dialogues that allow students to compare and contrast the philosophers' positions. Topics covered include the nature of philosophy, the existence of God, immortality, knowledge, the mind-body question, personal identity, free will and determinism, ethics, political philosophy, and the meaning of life. The sixth edition offers selections from Plato, Ren Descartes, John Locke, David Hume, William James, Bertrand Russell, John Hick, John Hospers, and James Rachels--as well as essays by Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Blaise Pascal, Thomas Hobbes, George Berkeley, Immanuel Kant, Gilbert Ryle, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Alvin Plantinga, and many others.
In Philosophy: The Quest for Truth, Sixth Edition, Pojman offers substantial introductions to each of the nineteen philosophical problems. In addition, each of the seventy-six readings is accompanied by an individual introduction with a biographical sketch of the philosopher, study questions, and reflective questions that challenge students to analyze and critique the material. Short bibliographies following each major section and a detailed glossary further enhance the text's pedagogical value. Invaluable for introductory courses in philosophy, this highly acclaimed text inspires and guides students' quest for wisdom.

New to the Sixth Edition: :
* Six selections:
William Lane Craig: The Kalam Cosmological Argument and the Anthropic Principle
William Rowe: An Analysis of the Ontological Argument
Daniel Dennett: Postmodernism and Truth
William James: The Dilemma of Determinism
Harry Frankfurt: Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person
John Rawls: The Contemporary Liberal Answer
* More exercises in the excursus on logic

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195189442
• ISBN13: 9780195189445
• Release Date: August 2005
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 672 Pages
• Weight: 2.26 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.3" x 1.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

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must read

excellent intro to philosophy. covers basics and then applies them to real life issues along with thinking process. read this and you will be smarter.

Great Product

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A Solid Intro to Philosophy

I have used this test as a college philosophy instructor. Overall, I think it is one of the better introductory philosophy anthologies available. With a few exceptions (some noted below), the readings are well-chosen and reflect a balanced approach to controversial issues. The section introductions, reading summaries, and study questions for each of the readings are generally quite good. My only substantive complaint, and it is one that applies to every other introductory philosophy anthology I have looked at, is that the selection of readings could in a few cases have been better. The essay on libertarian free will by Corliss Lamont is particularly weak and would be better replaced with a classic essay by Chisholm or a selection from Van Inwagen. Also, there are some significant lacunae in the philosophy of religion section. For example, there is no mention of the distinction between the deductive and the evidential problems of evil. Nor is there any treatment of important post-Paley theistic arguments such as the kalam cosmological argument and the cosmic fine-tuning version of the design argument. On a positive note, I am pleased that Pojman included a recent defense of substance dualism by J.P.Moreland. Most anthologies only give a selection from Descartes' Meditations. Moreland's case is better than Descartes and sets up a good discussion of mind-body issues vis-a-vis the selection from materialist Paul Churchland.

The search for knowledge

Iam a student at west los angeles college and I will be using this textbook for a begining Philosophy 1 class. the only thing I that does need inprovment: there should be more words in the glossary. and a study guide to go along with this book.