Ultimate Questions: Thinking about Philosophy

Title Page
Copyright Page
Brief Contents
Contents
Preface
1 What Is Philosophy?
	Making Sense of the World
	The Relationship Between Science and Philosophy
	The Main Branches of Philosophy
2 Philosophical Tools
	Logical Consistency
		A Demand of Reason: Avoid Contradictions
	Definitions
	Logical Possibility
	The Basic Structure of Arguments
		Putting Arguments into Standard Form
	Deductive and Inductive Arguments
		Evaluating Deductive Arguments: Validity and Soundness
		Evaluating Deductive Arguments: Logical Form
		Evaluating Inductive Arguments: Probability
3 What Do We Know?
	Why Knowledge Matters
		Knowledge, Belief, and Other Propositional Attitudes
		Searching for a Definition of Knowledge
	Three Different Theories of Knowledge
		Skepticism
		Empiricism
		Rationalism
	Final Remarks on Epistemology
4 The Problem of Free Will
	Why Is There a Problem with Free Will?
	The Case for Hard Determinism
	Can Indeterminism Save Free Will?
	Compatibilism
		Traditional Compatibilism
		Deep Self-Compatibilism
		A Fundamental Problem for Compatibilism
	Libertarianism
		The Case for Libertarianism
		Problems for Libertarianism
	Final Remarks on the Problem of Free Will
5 The Problem of Personal Identity
	What Is the Problem?
	The Illusion Theory
		The Case for the Illusion Theory
		Problems for the Illusion Theory
	The Body Theory, or Animalism
		The Case for the Body Theory
		Problems for the Body Theory
	The Soul Theory
		The Case for the Soul Theory
		Problems for the Soul Theory
		Identity as Psychological Connection Between Life Stages
	The Memory Theory of Personal Identity
		The Case for the Memory Theory
		Problems for the Memory Theory
	Narrative Conception of Personal Identity
		Advantages of the Narrative View
		Problems for the Narrative View
	Final Remarks on Personal Identity
6 The Mind/Body Problem
	What Is the Problem?
	Possible Solutions to the Mind/Body Problem
	Substance Dualism
		Arguments for Substance Dualism
		Arguments Against Substance Dualism
	Varieties of Physicalism
	Behaviorism
		Logical Behaviorism
		Arguments Against Logical Behaviorism
	The Identity Theory
		Arguments Against the Identity Theory
	Functionalism
		Functional Concepts and "Stuff" Concepts
		Functionalism: Mind as Software
		Functionalism and Artificial Intelligence: The Turing Test
		Arguments Against Functionalism
	Eliminative Materialism
	Final Remarks on the Mind/Body Problem
7 Does God Exist?
	God, Faith, and Reason
	What Do We Mean by the Word God?
	Arguments in Defense of Classical Theism
		Arguments from Religious Experiences
		The Cosmological Argument
		The Design Argument
		The Ontological Argument
		Pascal's Wager
		The Effect of These Arguments
	Arguments Against Classical Theism
		The Logical Problem of Evil
		The Evidential Problem of Evil
	Final Remarks on the Problem of God's Existence
8 What Ought We to Do?
	Moral Intuitions and Moral Principles
	A Fundamental Challenge: Relativism
		The Case for Ethical Subjectivism
		Problems for Ethical Subjectivism
		The Case for Cultural Relativism
		Problems for Cultural Relativism
		Final Remarks on Cultural Relativism
	Some Important Ethical Theories
		Divine Command Theory
		Utilitarianism
		Duty-Based Theories
		Virtue-Based Theories
	Final Remarks on the Problem of Morality
9 Should We Be Afraid of Death?
	What Happens When We Die?
		Death as the Absolute End: Annihilation
		Survival After Death
		Agnosticism About Death
Solutions to End-of-Chapter Multiple-Choice Questions
Index