Synopses & Reviews
Classics of Philosophy, 2/e, is the most comprehensive anthology of writings in Western philosophy in print. Spanning 2500 years of thought, it is ideal for introduction to philosophy and history of philosophy courses that are structured chronologically. More than seventy works by forty-two philosophers as well as fragments from the Pre-Socratics are included, offering students and general readers alike an extensive and economical collection of the major works of the Western tradition. This anthology contains the most important writings from Thales to Rawls; seventeen of these are complete works, while the others are judiciously abridged so that little of value to the student is lost. Unabridged works include such classics as Plato's
The Apology, Descartes's
Meditations on First Philosophy, Leibniz's
The Monadology, Hume's
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Kant's
Foundation for the Metaphysic of Morals, Mill's
Utilitarianism, Russell's
A Free Man's Worship, Sartre's
Existentialism and Humanism, and Rawls's "Justice as Fairness." A lucid introduction, including a brief biographical sketch, accompanies each of the featured philosophers.
Classics of Philosophy, 2/e, provides an extensive view of the most significant stages of growth in Western philosophy, including its birth with the Pre-Socratics as well as its contemporary developments. The second edition includes new selections by Augustine, Berkeley, Hume, Wollstonecraft, Nagel, and Foot.
Review
"The strength of the book is its comprehensiveness--all periods of Western philosophy are covered, and selections are either unabridged or very substantial. Pojman and Vaughn's introductions are also excellent; substantive, clearly written, but concise. It's the best anthology for the price."--Amy Lara, Kansas State University
"I cannot identify a single text in the ancient, medieval, or modern periods that I would ordinarily consider assigning that is omitted from this volume."--John Meadors, Mississippi College
"I was impressed with the use of the Pre-Socratic texts and the intros and secondary literature references. This is a very impressive and positive contribution over so many other introductory volumes."--Joseph A. Novak, University of Waterloo
"This book is comprehensive, thorough, and does a good job covering the 'canon' for those of us who teach a historical introduction to philosophy. At the same time, it offers selections for those who'd prefer a topical approach."--Brenda Wirkus, John Carroll University
Synopsis
Incorporating the insights of new coeditor Lewis Vaughn,
Classics of Philosophy, Third Edition, is the most comprehensive anthology of writings in Western philosophy in print. Spanning 2,500 years of thought, it is ideal for introduction to philosophy and history of philosophy courses. It features more than seventy selections by forty philosophers--along with fragments from the Pre-Socratics--offering students and instructors an extensive and economical collection of the major works of the Western tradition. This volume contains the most important writings from Thales to Rawls; twenty of these are complete works, while the others are judiciously abridged so that little of value to the student is lost. A lucid introduction, including a brief biographical sketch, accompanies each of the featured philosophers.
NEW TO THE THIRD
Table of Contents
*=New to this edition **=Expanded in this edition
Preface
Time Line
PART 1: THE ANCIENT PERIOD
1. The Pre-Socratics
Readings
2. Plato
Euthyphro
The Apology
Crito
Phaedo
Meno
Republic
3. Aristotle
Categories
** Posterior Analytics (Analytica Posteriora)
Physics
** On the Soul
** Metaphysics (Metaphysica)
** Nicomachean Ethics
Politics
4. Epicurus
Letter to Menoeceus
Principal Doctrines
5. Epictetus
Encheiridion
6. Sextus Empiricus
Outlines of Pyrrhonism
7. Plotinus
Ennead I.6
Ennead V.1
PART 2: THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD
8. Augustine
On Free Will
On Time and Eternity
The City of God
9. Boethius
The Consolation of Philosophy
10. Anselm and Gaunilo
Proslogium
Gaunilo's Criticism
St. Anselm's Rejoinder
* 11. Moses Maimonides
* Guide for the Perplexed
12. Thomas Aquinas
Summa Theologica
13. William of Ockham
Summa Logicae
PART 3: THE MODERN PERIOD
14. René Descartes
Meditations on First Philosophy
15. Thomas Hobbes
Leviathan
16. Blaise Pascal
Pensées
17. Baruch Spinoza
The Ethics
18. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
Discourse on Metaphysics
The Monadology
19. John Locke
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
20. George Berkeley
** Of the Principles of Human Knowledge
Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous in Opposition to Sceptics and Atheists
21. David Hume
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
** Treatise on Human Nature
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion
22. Immanuel Kant
Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics
Foundation for the Metaphysic of Morals
* Critique of Pure Reason
23. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Phenomenology of Spirit
* 24. Arthur Schopenhauer
* The World as Will and Representation
25. Søren Kierkegaard
Readings
Concluding Unscientific Postscript
26. John Stuart Mill
Utilitarianism
On Liberty
The Subjection of Women
27. Friedrich Nietzsche
Aphorisms
Joyful Wisdom
Beyond Good and Evil
Twilight of the Idols
The Anti-Christ
PART 4: THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD
28. Charles Sanders Peirce
Fixation of Belief
29. William James
The Will to Believe
Pragmatism
30. Bertrand Russell
The Problems of Philosophy
A Free Man's Worship
31. G.E. Moore
Philosophical Papers
32. Ludwig Wittgenstein
Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
Philosophical Investigations
33. Edmund Husserl
Ideas: General Introduction to Pure Phenomenology
34. Martin Heidegger
The Fundamental Question of Metaphysics
35. Jean-Paul Sartre
Being and Nothingness
Existentialism and Humanism
36. A.J. Ayer
Language, Truth and Logic
37. Thomas Nagel
What Is It Like to Be a Bat?
38. Philippa Foot
Morality as a System of Hypothetical Imperatives
39. Nelson Goodman
Fact, Fiction, and Forecast
40. John Rawls
Justice as Fairness