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Colombetti's Philosophy Page |
study and research guide
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Reference Section:
Look up terms, authors, topics, or schools of thought. The
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy and Kemerling's Pages are good places to
start. The Stanford Encyclopedia is more authoritative but less accessible
for the beginner. It is advisable to search various sources and compare
results. Use Suber's Guide and Episteme to find additional philosophy
resources on the internet. |
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A Few Recommended Books:
As a life-long
learner, you will want to read at least one non-fiction book each month
throughout your life (including some philosophy). Here is selection of exciting work by
some of the best minds of our time, such as Patricia Churchland, Daniel Dennet,
Richard Dawkins, Susan Blackmore, Judith Jarvis Thomson, Derek Parfit, and
others. They are classified by
subject area so you can easily find something that matches your interest. I have chosen work that represents
current thinking in the discipline.
These books were all written for the general public or for the student
of philosophy. I have also listed
important work by some of my own teachers, including political philosopher
Gregory Kavka, philosopher of religion Nelson Pike, and logician Brian
Skyrms. An asterisk (*) indicates a
book that is challenging but very rewarding. Most of these titles are available at
the Skyline College library.
General Philosophy
Elliott
Sober, Core Questions in Philosophy, 4th
ed.
Bertrand Russell, The Problems of
Philosophy
Rauhut and Smith, Readings About the
Ultimate Questions
Perry and Bratman, eds., Introduction
to Philosophy
I also recommend the Introductions series published by
Oxford University Press.
These are short, inexpensive, little books that offer surveys of various
topics.
Critical Thinking and Logic
Hausman, Kahane,
Tidman, Logic and Philosophy, 10th
ed.
Schick and Vaughn, How to Think About
Weird Things
Patrick Hurley, A Concise
Introduction to Logic, 8th ed.
Brian Skyrms, Choice and Chance (a
classic on inductive logic)
Stephen Layman, The Power of Logic
Ian Hacking, An Introduction to
Probability and Inductive Logic
Cosmology (Historical, Philosophical, Scientific)
Timothy
Ferris, Coming of Age in the Milky Way /
The Whole Shebang
Thomas Kuhn, The Copernican Revolution
(*)
Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time
/ The Universe in a Nutshell
Lee Smolin, The Life of the Cosmos
Brian Greene, The Elegant Universe /
The Fabric of the Cosmos
Philosophy of Mind / Consciousness
Patricia
Smith Churchland, Brain-Wise /
Neurophilosophy (*)
Paul Churchland, Matter and Consciousness
/ The Engine of Reason
Susan Blackmore, The Meme Machine / Consciousness:
An Introduction
Daniel C. Dennett, Kinds of
Minds / Consciousness
Explained (*)
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More Philosophy of Mind / Philosophy of Psychology
Antonio
Damasio, The Feeling of What Happens
Antonio Damasio, Descartes’ Error
Daniel C. Dennett, Freedom Evolves
(*)
John Searle, The Mystery of
Consciousness
Philosophy of Biology / Evolution
Daniel C.
Dennett, Darwin’s Dangerous Idea
Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene
Richard Dawkins, The Blind Watchmaker
Elliott Sober, Philosophy of Biology
(*)
Sober and Wilson, Unto Others: The
Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior
Contemporary Work in Ethics (General)
Steven Cahn
and eds., 20th Century Ethical
Theory
William Frankena, Ethics (an
accessible and classic survey)
Peter Singer, Practical Ethics
(accessible introduction by a utilitarian)
Marc Timmons, Moral Theory (a detailed
survey of 9 theories)
J. L. Mackie, Ethics: Inventing Right
and Wrong
Meta-ethics
Derek Parfit,
Reasons and Persons (*)
Gilbert Harman and Judith Jarvis Thomson, Moral
Relativism and Moral Objectivity
David O. Brink, Moral Realism and the
Foundations of Ethics (*)
Brad Hooker, Ideal Code, Real World
(*)
Political Philosophy Since John Rawls
John Rawls, A Theory of Justice
Michael Walzer, Spheres of Justice
Samuel Freeman, ed., The Cambridge
Companion to Rawls
Brian Barry, Theories of Justice (*)
Political Philosophy and Rational Choice
Theory
Brian Skyrms,
Evolution of the Social Contract
Brian Skyrms, The Stag Hunt and the
Evolution of Social Structure
Gregory S. Kavka, Hobbesian Moral and
Political Theory (*)
Philosophy of Science (General)
Ronald Giere et. al.,, Understanding
Scientific Reasoning, 5th ed.
Edward O. Wilson, Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge
Peter Godfrey-Smith, Theory and
Reality
David Z. Albert, Time and Chance (*)
Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of
Scientific Revolutions
Sokal and Bricmont, Fashionable
Nonsense: Postmodern Intellectuals’ Abuse of Science
Philosophy of Religion: God
William Rowe,
Philosophy of Religion: An Introduction
Louis Pojman, Philosophy of Religion: An
Anthology
Nelson Pike, God and Timelessness
(*); Mystic Union
Rudolf Otto, The Idea of the Holy
Richard Swinburne, The Existence of God
John Mackie, The Miracle of Theism
Robin Le Poidevin, Arguing for
Atheism
Philosophy of Religion: Miracles
C. S. Lewis, Miracles
John Earman, Hume’s Abject Failure
(*)
Richard Swinburne, The Resurrection of
God Incarnate
Bishop John Shelby Spong, Resurrection: Myth or Reality?
Bishop John Shelby Spong, Rescuing
the Bible from Fundamentalism
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WHO'S WHO
Portraits of Famous
Philosophers
Sijmen Hendriks Photo
Gallery some contemporary
philosophers
David Chalmers |
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Just For Fun
The Skeptic's
Dictionary
Game Theory: The
Prisoner's Dilemma