Philosophy

Ruth J. Sample is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of New Hampshire. She teaches social and political philosophy, early modern philosophy, and feminist philosophy, and is the author of Exploitation: What It Is and Why It’s Wrong (2003). Charles W. Mills is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He works in the area of oppositional political theory and is the author of three books: The Racial Contract (1997), Blackness Visible: Essays on Philosophy and Race (1998), and From Class to Race: Essays in White Marxism and Black Radicalism (2003). James P. Sterba is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, where he teaches ethics and political philosophy. His publications include How to Make People Just (1988), Feminist Philosophies (2nd edn., 1995), Justice for Here and Now (1998), Earth Ethics (2nd edn., 2000), Three Challenges to Ethics (2001),and Morality in Practice (7th edn., 2003).

• Preface ix Acknowledgments xiPART ONE WHAT CAN WE KNOW? 1Introduction 31 From Meditations on First Philosophy 6RENÉ DESCARTES2 From An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding 34DAVID HUME3 Cartesian Skepticism and Inference to the Best Explanation 64JONATHAN VOGEL4 From Science as Social Knowledge 71HELEN LONGINO5 The ‘Maleness’ of Reason 78GENEVIEVE LLOYD6 The Ethics of Belief 83WILLIAM CLIFFORD7 It is Wrong, Everywhere, Always, and for Anyone, to Believe Anything upon Insufficient Evidence 87PETER VAN INWAGENEpistemology: Suggestions for Further Reading 99PART TWO WHAT CAN WE KNOW ABOUT THE NATURE AND EXISTENCE OF GOD? 101Introduction 1038 From Proslogium 106ST. ANSELM9 In Behalf of the Fool: An Answer to the Argument of Anselm in the Proslogium 107 GAUNILO10 The Ontological Argument 111WILLIAM L. ROWE11 The Cosmological Argument 123WILLIAM L. ROWE12 From Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion 133DAVID HUME13 The Argument from Design 141R. G. SWINBURNE14 The Wager 151BLAISE PASCAL15 The Recombinant DNA Debate: A Difficulty for Pascalian-Style Wagering 154STEPHEN P. STICH16 A Central Theistic Argument 155GEORGE SCHLESINGER17 Evil and Omnipotence 167J. L. MACKIE18 The Problem of Evil 176ELEONORE STUMP19 Male-Chauvinist Religion 190DEBORAH MATHIEU20 Divine Racism: A Philosophical and Theological Analysis 201WILLIAM R. JONESReligion: Suggestions for Further Reading 212PART THREE ARE WE EVER FREE? 213Introduction 21521 From The System of Nature 218PAUL HOLBACH22 Freedom and Necessity 225A. J. AYER23 Human Freedom and the Self 231RODERICK M. CHISHOLM24 Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility 239HARRY G. FRANKFURT25 How to Complete the Compatibilist Account of Free Action 246JAMES P. STERBA AND JANET A. KOURANY26 Living without Free Will: The Case for Hard Incompatibilism 257DERK PEREBOOM27 Metaethics, Metaphilosophy, and Free Will Subjectivism 267RICHARD DOUBLEFreedom and Determinism: Suggestions for Further Reading 276PART FOUR DOES OUR EXISTENCE HAVE A MEANING OR PURPOSE? 277Introduction 27928 From My Confession 281LEO TOLSTOY29 The Absurdity of Life without God 288WILLIAM LANE CRAIG30 On the Vanity of Existence 302ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER31 An Absurd Reasoning 305ALBERT CAMUS32 Existentialism Is a Humanism 313JEAN-PAUL SARTRE33 The Absurd 322THOMAS NAGEL34 What Makes Life Worth Living? 330OWEN FLANAGAN35 The Meaning of Life 337JOHN KEKES36 Tolstoi and the Meaning of Life 353ANTHONY FLEWThe Meaning of Life: Suggestions for Further Reading 361PART FIVE HOW SHOULD WE LIVE? 363Introduction 36537 Morality as Good in Itself 367PLATO38 The Problem of Rationality: Is Morality Rationally Required? 374JAMES P. STERBA39 From Utilitarianism 383JOHN STUART MILL40 Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals 399IMMANUEL KANT41 From Two Treatises of Government 414JOHN LOCKE42 From A Theory of Justice 421JOHN RAWLS43 Distributive Justice 445ROBERT NOZICK44 Gender Inequality and Cultural Difference 455SUSAN MOLLER OKIN45 Race/Gender and the Ethics of Difference 470JANE FLAX46 A Response to Jane Flax 478SUSAN MOLLER OKIN47 Equality, Discrimination and Preferential Treatment 482BERNARD R. BOXILL48 All Animals Are Equal . . . 490PETER SINGER49 The Ethics of Respect for Nature 505PAUL W. TAYLOREthics: Suggestions for Further Reading 519Index 520

"This is an extraordinary rich and refreshing collection of essays that brings together some of the most illuminating and provocative essays to be found in philosophy. This volume reveals the majesty of philosophy while, at the same time, showcasing the diversity and creativity that has made philosophy so appealing to the very best minds. I expect this reader to become a classic text." Laurence Thomas, Syracuse University "This marvelous collection of readings from the Western tradition draws judiciously both from classic texts and contemporary authors. Reminding us of the basic importance for all human life of the central questions of philosophy, it orms an excellent introduction to the subject." Roger Trigg, University of Warwick