Reading Philosophy: Selected Texts with a Method for Beginners

Reading Philosophy will appeal to both those beginning their study of philosophy at a university and those who want to engage with the subject on their own. Unlike introductory books which tell the reader about the subject, this one requires the reader to do philosophy. Its direct approach makes the book valuable both for students and for other readers. It can be used as the set reading in seminars in introductory courses: each chapter can act as a focal point for extended discussion week by week. But it is also well adapted for self–sufficient use by individuals working without a teacher. The volume provides eighteen examples of high–quality philosophical texts, covering nine philosophical topics: Doubt; Self; Tragedy; Equality; Dilemma; Identity; Freedom; Causality; Qualities. The texts include writings by Descartes, Boyle, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Schopenhauer and J. S. Mill, as well as eight written by philosophers in the late twentieth century. Each chapter contains an introduction to the problem, introductions to the texts and their authors, and interactive commentaries on the texts.

Preface. Introduction. 1. Doubt. 2. Self. 3. Tragedy. 4. Equality. 5. Dilemma. 6. Identity. 7. Freedom. 8. Causality. 9. Qualities. Essay/Examination Questions. Further Reading. Index.

Samuel Guttenplan is a Reader in Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is the author of The Languages of Logic (2nd edn, Blackwell, 1997), editor of A Companion to the Philosophy of Mind (Blackwell, 1994) and executive editor of the journal Mind & Language . Jennifer Hornsby taught philosophy at Oxford from 1978 to 1994, when she moved to Birkbeck College, as Professor. Her chief areas of publication are the philosophy of mind, action and language. She has also written about the impact of feminism on philosophy. Christopher Janaway was educated at Oxford and has taught for the past twenty years at Birkbeck College, where he is currently Professor of Philosophy. His chief areas of publication are aesthetics, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche.

" Reading Philosophy is an excellent introduction to philosophy, especially as it is practiced in the analytic tradition. I know of no other text which introduces students to the practice of philosophy as this one does." Roger P. Ebertz, University of Dubuque <!––end––> "The book is very well done, with an attractive combination of breadth and depth. Too often, introductory textbooks are comprehensive at the cost of serious attention to important specifics. This book helps the introductory student get down to the careful work of doing philosophy." David Sosa, University of Texas at Austin "Reading Philosophy is useful and rewarding, and a natural for the philosophy shelves of any academic or academic′s collection." Reference Reviews, 2003