The Truth About The World Basic Readings In Philosophy

This collection of essays addresses some of the most important issues in philosophy, involving God, the mind, freedom, knowledge, and ethics. It can accompany James Rachels and Stuart Rachels’ introductory text, Problems from Philosophy, or it can stand alone with great effectiveness. The Truth about the World and Problems from Philosophy were James Rachels’ last contributions to philosophy, and each book has been revised by his son, Stuart. In these two books, James Rachels found a culminating expression for his love of philosophy.

This collection of essays addresses some of the most important issues in philosophy: God, the mind, freedom, knowledge, and ethics. It can accompany James Rachels' new text Problems from Philosophy, or it can stand alone with great effectiveness. The Truth About the World and Problems from Philosophy are at once Rachels' newest contributions to philosophy and his last. In these two books, the respected author found a culminating expression for his love of philosophy. .

This book is an introduction to some of the main problems of philosophy--God, mind, freedom, knowledge, and ethics. The chapters may be read independently of one another. But when read in order, they tell a more or less continuous story. We begin with some reflections about the legacy of Socrates and then go on to the existence of God, which is perhaps the most basic philosophical question of all because our answer to it influences how we will answer all the others. This leads naturally to a discussion of death and the soul, and then to more modern ideas about the nature of persons. The later chapters are about whether it is possible for us to have objective knowledge in either science or ethics. James Rachels, from the Preface Problems from Philosophy and The Truth About the World: Basic Readings in Philosophy are at once James Rachels' newest contributions to philosophy and his last. In these two books, Rachels found a culminating expression for his love of philosophy.

Heidegger's Platonism challenges Heidegger's 1940 interpretation of Plato as the philosopher who initiated the West's ontological decline into contemporary nihilism. Mark A. Ralkowski argues that, in his earlier lecture course, On the Essence of Truth, in which he appropriates Plato in a positive light, Heidegger discovered the two most important concepts of his later thought, namely the difference between the Being of beings and Being as such, and the 'belonging together' of Being and man in what he eventually calls Ereignis, the 'event of appropriation'. Ralkowski shows that, far from being the grand villain of metaphysics, Plato was in fact the gateway to Heidegger's later period. Because Heidegger discovers the seeds of his later thought in his positive appropriation of Plato, this book argues that Heidegger's later thought is a return to and phenomenological transformation of Platonism, which is ironic not least because Heidegger thought of himself as the West's first truly post-Platonic philosopher.

James Rachels's philosophical writings address key questions of contemporary life and the classic dilemmas of moral philosophy. A leading figure in the development of applied ethics, James Rachels became an influential and sometimes controversial thinker on issues concerning animal rights, euthanasia, bioethics, and moral objectivity. This final collection of James Rachels's work brings together fourteen essays that best summarize Rachels's philosophical positions. The essays also shed new light on the depth and breadth of Rachels's work and its importance for contemporary philosophy. Written in Rachels's characteristically lucid, literary prose, these essays address the relationship between morality and reason, the duty to relieve both human and animal suffering, the independence of morality from religion, the rejection of relativism and egoism, and the role of ethics in a democratic society. Rachels offers an argument for vegetarianism, examines a controversial case involving a surrogate mother, and speculates on the ethics of political killing. Other essays range from Rachels's interpretation of Nietzsche's philosophy to his appreciation of movies. Rachels was a strong believer in the ability of moral philosophy to improve our lives. This collection, which brings these important works together for the first time, is a testament to both the value of moral philosophy in understanding our world and the richness of Rachels's contributions to this understanding.

‘Philosophy: The Basics deservedly remains the most recommended introduction to philosophy on the market. Warburton is patient, accurate and, above all, clear. There is no better short introduction to philosophy.’ - Stephen Law, author of The Philosophy Gym Philosophy: The Basics gently eases the reader into the world of philosophy. Each chapter considers a key area of philosophy, explaining and exploring the basic ideas and themes including: Can you prove God exists? How do we know right from wrong? What are the limits of free speech? Do you know how science works? Is your mind different from your body? Can you define art? How should we treat non-human animals? For the fifth edition of this best-selling book, Nigel Warburton has added an entirely new chapter on animals, revised others and brought the further reading sections up to date. If you’ve ever asked ‘what is philosophy?’, or wondered whether the world is really the way you think it is, this is the book for you.