In Exploring Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology, Steven M. Cahn brings together exceptionally clear recent essays by noted philosophers and supplements them with influential historical sources. Most importantly, the articles have been carefully edited to make them understandable to every reader. The readings are enhanced by concise introductions, study questions, explanatory notes, and suggestions for further reading. Reflecting the major role of women in philosophy today, more than 1/4 of the contemporary essays are authored by women. The sixth edition features a new section on Asian Outlooks, with essays on Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Zen Buddhism.

Table of Contents:
*=New to this Edition Preface: 1. INTRODUCTION What Is Philosophy?, Monroe C. Beardsley and Elizabeth Lane Beardsley The Value of Philosophy, Bertrand Russell Historical Source Defence of Socrates, Plato 2. REASONING * The Elements of Argument, Steven M. Cahn, Patricia Kitcher, and George Sher Improving Your Thinking, Stephen F. Barker Necessary and Sufficient Conditions, Steven M. Cahn Scientific Inquiry, Carl G. Hempel 3. KNOWLEDGE Caring and Epistemic Demands, Linda Zagzebski What Is Knowledge?, A. J. Ayer Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?, Edmund L. Gettier Conditions for Knowledge, Robert Nozick Appearance and Reality, Bertrand Russell What Can I Know?, D. Z. Phillips The Problem of Induction, Bertrand Russell Induction Without a Problem, P. F. Strawson Puzzling Out Knowledge, Susan Haack Historical Sources Meditations on First Philosophy, René Descartes An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, John Locke A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge, George Berkeley An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, David Hume Critique of Pure Reason, Immanuel Kant 4. MIND The Ghost in the Machine, Gilbert Ryle Body and Soul, Richard Taylor The Mind-Body Problem, Paul M. Churchland What Is It Like to Be a Bat?, Thomas Nagel The Qualia Problem, Frank Jackson Knowing What It's Like, David Lewis Computing Machinery and Intelligence, Alan Turing Do Computers Think?, John Searle The Body Problem, Barbara Montero Historical Source Meditations on First Philosophy, René Descartes 5. FREE WILL Free Will, Thomas Nagel Free Will and Determinism, W. T. Stace Free Will or Determinism?, Steven M. Cahn The Principle of Alternative Possibilities, Harry Frankfurt The Capacities of Agents, Neil Levy Historical Sources An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, David Hume The Dilemma of Determinism, William James 6. IDENTITY A Case of Identity, Brian Smart The Problem of Personal Identity, John Perry The Unimportance of Identity, Derek Parfit Historical Sources An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, John Locke A Treatise of Human Nature, David Hume Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man, Thomas Reid 7. GOD Does God Exist?, Ernest Nagel Why God Allows Evil, Richard Swinburne Pascal's Wager, Simon Blackburn Pascal's Wager: An Assessment, Linda Zagzebski The Problem of Hell, Marilyn McCord Adams Faith and Reason, Michael Scriven God and Morality, Steven M. Cahn Historical Sources The Ontological Argument, Anselm and Gaunilo Summa Theologiae, Thomas Aquinas Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, David Hume The Wager, Blaise Pascal Natural Theology, William Paley The Will to Believe, William James 8. MORAL THEORY How Not to Answer Moral Questions, Tom Regan Moral Isolationism, Mary Midgley Kant's Ethics, Onora O'Neill Assessing Utilitarianism, Louis P. Pojman * Virtue Ethics, Julia Driver The Ethics of Care, Virginia Held * Egoism and Moral Skepticism, James Rachels Happiness and Morality, Christine Vitrano Existentialism, Jean-Paul Sartre Historical Sources Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, Immanuel Kant Utilitarianism, John Stuart Mill 9. MORAL PROBLEMS A Defense of Abortion, Judith Jarvis Thomson On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion, Mary Anne Warren Why Abortion Is Immoral, Don Marquis Virtue Theory and Abortion, Rosalind Hursthouse Active and Passive Euthanasia, James Rachels The Intentional Termination of Life, Bonnie Steinbock Famine, Affluence, and Morality, Peter Singer * A Reply to Singer, Travis Timmerman The Case for Animal Rights, Tom Regan Speaking of Animal Rights, Mary Anne Warren 10. SOCIETY Two Concepts of Citizenship, Jean Hampton Democracy, John Dewey What Is a Liberal Education?, Sidney Hook Cultivating Humanity, Martha Nussbaum Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King, Jr. Historical Sources Crito, Plato On Liberty, John Stuart Mill Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, Karl Marx 11. SOCIAL JUSTICE A Theory of Justice, John Rawls Distributive Justice, Robert Nozick Non-contractual Society: A Feminist View, Virginia Held Historical Sources The Republic, Plato Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes Second Treatise of Government, John Locke 12. ART The Role of Theory in Aesthetics, Morris Weitz * Aesthetic Concepts, Frank Sibley * Speaking in Parables, Sallie McFague Fearing Fictions, Kendall Walton Historical Sources The Republic, Plato Poetics, Aristotle 13. LIFE AND DEATH The Trolley Problem, Judith Jarvis Thomson Turning the Trolley, Judith Jarvis Thomson Death, Thomas Nagel The Badness of Death, Shelly Kagan Historical Sources Phaedo, Plato Writings, Epicurus The Handbook, Epictetus 14. THE MEANING OF LIFE The Meaning of Life, Richard Taylor Meaning in Life, Susan Wolf Meaningful Lives?, Christine Vitrano * 15. ASIAN OUTLOOKS * The Buddha's Message, Christopher W. Gowans * The Confucian Way, Henry Rosemont, Jr. * The Tao, Ray Billington * Twelve Zen Stories Index: