Philosophy Textbooks

Filters

Introduction to Philosophy: Epistemology

Contributors: Barnett and Hendricks

Publisher: Rebus Community

License: CC BY

Introduction to Philosophy: Epistemology engages first-time philosophy readers on a guided tour through the core concepts, questions, methods, arguments, and theories of epistemology—the branch of philosophy devoted to the study of knowledge. The book progresses systematically while placing key ideas and thinkers in historical and contemporary context. Central topics include the analysis of knowledge, the nature of epistemic justification, rationalism vs. empiricism, skepticism, the value of knowledge, the ethics of belief, Bayesian epistemology, social epistemology, and feminist epistemologies.

(1 review)

The Primacy of the Public

Contributor: Schultz-Bergin

Publisher: College of DuPage

License: CC BY-NC

The Primacy of the Public presents a framework for engineering and technology ethics focused around three core ethical principles: the principle of welfare, the autonomy principle, and the fairness principle. To support this framework, the book begins with an examination of multiple perspectives we may take on engineering and technology, all of which support the centrality of ethical analysis and evaluation. These include the nature of engineering as a profession, the social context of engineering and technology, and the view that many technologies constitute social experiments.

No ratings

(0 reviews)

Introduction to Philosophy: Philosophy of Religion

Contributors: Branson and Hendricks

Publisher: Rebus Community

License: CC BY

Introduction to Philosophy: Philosophy of Religion introduces some of the major traditional arguments for and against the existence of God, as well as some less well-known, but thought-provoking arguments for the existence of God, and one of the most important new challenges to religious belief from the Cognitive Science of Religion. An introductory chapter traces the connection between philosophy and religion throughout Western history, and a final chapter addresses the place of non-Western and non-monotheistic religions within contemporary philosophy of religion.

(2 reviews)

Introduction to Philosophy: Logic

Contributors: Martin and Hendricks

Publisher: Rebus Community

License: CC BY

Introduction to Philosophy: Logic provides students with the concepts and skills necessary to identify and evaluate arguments effectively. The chapters, all written by experts in the field, provide an overview of what arguments are, the different types of arguments one can expect to encounter in both philosophy and everyday life, and how to recognise common argumentative mistakes.

No ratings

(0 reviews)

Plato's 'Republic': An Introduction

Contributor: McAleer

Publisher: Open Book Publishers

License: CC BY

This book is a lucid and accessible companion to Plato’s Republic, throwing light upon the text’s arguments and main themes, placing them in the wider context of the text’s structure. In its illumination of the philosophical ideas underpinning the work, it provides readers with an understanding and appreciation of the complexity and literary artistry of Plato’s Republic. McAleer not only unpacks the key overarching questions of the text – What is justice? And Is a just life happier than an unjust life? – but also highlights some fascinating, overlooked passages which contribute to our understanding of Plato’s philosophical thought.

(1 review)

A Guide to Good Reasoning: Cultivating Intellectual Virtues - Second edition, revised and updated

Contributor: Wilson

Publisher: University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing

License: CC BY-NC

A Guide to Good Reasoning has been described by reviewers as “far superior to any other critical reasoning text.” It shows with both wit and philosophical care how students can become good at everyday reasoning. It starts with attitude—with alertness to judgmental heuristics and with the cultivation of intellectual virtues. From there it develops a system for skillfully clarifying and evaluating arguments, according to four standards—whether the premises fit the world, whether the conclusion fits the premises, whether the argument fits the conversation, and whether it is possible to tell.

(2 reviews)

Philosophical Ethics

Contributor: Matthews

Publisher: George W. Matthews

License: CC BY-SA

This book is an introduction to philosophical ethics intended for use in introductory college or high school level courses. It has grown out of lecture notes I shared with the first students who took my online Ethics course at the Pennsylvania College of Technology almost 20 years ago. Since then it has seen more development in a variety of forms – starting out as a pdf document, and then evolving into a static set of WordPress pages and finally now as a book written in bookdown and hosted at GitHub. This text represents my attempt to scratch a couple of itches. The first is my wanting a presentation of the major philosophical approaches to ethics that I can actually agree with and that is integrated into my overall teaching method. I tend to teach philosophy to beginners and so there is a fair amount of discussion of the tools used by philosophers and of the ways in which their approach differs from that of their colleagues in other disciplines.

(1 review)

Introduction to Philosophy: Ethics

Contributors: Matthews and Hendricks

Publisher: Rebus Community

License: CC BY

We often make judgments about good and bad, right and wrong. Philosophical ethics is the critical examination of these and other concepts central to how we evaluate our own and each others’ behavior and choices.

(4 reviews)

Responsible Innovation: Ethics, Safety and Technology

Contributor: Kormelink

Publisher: TU Delft Open

License: CC BY-NC-SA

This textbook is based on the MOOC Responsible Innovation offered by the TU Delft. It provides a framework to reflect on the ethics and risks of new technologies. How can we make sure that innovations do justice to social and ethical values? How can we minimize (unknown)risks?

(2 reviews)

Introduction to Philosophy: Philosophy of Mind

Publisher: Rebus Community

License: CC BY

Introduction to Philosophy: Philosophy of Mind surveys the central themes in philosophy of mind and places them in a historical and contemporary context intended to engage first-time readers in the field. It focuses on debates about the status and character of the mind and its seemingly subjective nature in an apparently more objective world.

(2 reviews)