Western Philosophy

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An anthology can serve many different purposes. Anthologies of poetry usually leave readers to make their own way, sampling the flowers arranged for their delight. With philosophy things are rather different. Many of the arguments of the great philosophers rest on a daunting array of presuppositions and concealed premises, and careful guidance is needed if many readers are not to be overwhelmed. The texts included in this volume, and the linking passages of introduction and commentary, offer a guided tour through the main branches of the subject, introducing the ideas in sequence, and uncovering the main outlines of that complex interplay of arguments which forms the Western philosophical tradition. The central aim, as with all anthologies, is to put the reader in touch with the texts themselves. Those embarking on the subject can sometimes find it hard even to grasp just what philosophy is, and there is no better way of discovering than to read the writings of the great philosophers at first hand. This volume is designed to present some of the most important extracts from those writings in a way that will enable the individual to achieve a clear overview of how the subject developed, and how the most important theories fit into the overall picture. It is, I hope, a book which individuals will be able to keep by them, for pleasure and profit, as they set out on the quest for philosophical understanding.

The book also has the more specific aim of being serviceable to university students undertaking a formal course of study in philosophy. Philosophy is a wide-ranging subject, and there is no single template for an ideal introductory course (and even if there were, philosophy departments worth their salt would not wish to grind out exactly the same syllabus year after year). There are many ways into philosophy, and no good reason why one particular branch of the subject should always form the chosen route. One of the objects of this book is to provide, within the compass of a single volume, a set of key introductory materials for the widest possible range of courses, covering all the main branches of the subject (or at least all those suitable for teaching at a basic undergraduate level). Fundamental issues in epistemology are dealt with in Part I(‘Knowledge and Certainty’). Part II(‘Being and Reality’) is concerned with general metaphysics and ontology, and Part III(‘Language and Meaning’) deals with central philosophical concerns about how language is related to thought and to the world. The philosophy of mind is covered in Part IV(‘Mind and Body’), and the important issues of personal identity and the freedom of the will receive separate treatment in Part V(‘The Self and Freedom’). The philosophy of religion and the philosophy of science are dealt with in Part VI(‘God and Religion’) and Part VII(‘Science and Method’) respectively. The next two parts deal with moral philosophy: Part VIII(‘Morality and the Good Life’) tackles theoretical and systematic issues in normative ethics, while Part IX(‘Problems in Ethics’) covers a selection of key issues in applied moral philosophy. Part X(‘Authority and the State’) and Part XI(‘Beauty and Art’) deal respectively with political philosophy and aesthetics, and, to conclude the volume, Part XII(‘Human Life and its Meaning’) covers some of the various ways in which great thinkers, ancient and modern, have tackled the old puzzle of what significance, if any, attaches to human existence.

Although the first three parts of the volume are devoted to epistemology, meta-physics and philosophy of language, traditionally considered as having a ‘foundational’ role in philosophy, the issues raised here are among the most demanding in the book, and there is no compelling reason why any given introductory course should have to begin with them. Each part of the volume is intended to be self-contained, and students and teachers are invited to work on the various parts of the book in any order they see fit, or indeed to concentrate on any particular part or parts in isolation. That said, given the nature of philosophy there is inevitably a fair amount of overlap between the topics raised in various parts; where this happens footnotes are provided to draw attention to connections with relevant texts or commentary in other parts of the volume.

The passages of introduction and commentary which link the extracts have been kept as concise and clear as possible. They are, of course, no substitute for the interpretations and evaluations which lecturers and instructors will themselves wish to provide. This book is designed to be serviceable for both teachers and students, not to eliminate the need for hard work by either group. So what is provided here is a basic scaffolding on which courses can be constructed, and a supportive framework for those coming to the texts for the first time. There is always a danger of oversimplification when writing with the principal aim of helping the student reader. Philosophy is not an easy subject, and spoon-feeding is often counterproductive; in the end there is no alternative to readers wrestling with the arguments for themselves. But without a clear initial overview, the whole philosophical enterprise can seem dauntingly obscure. Qualifications, objections, reinterpretations – these can always be added later; but if there is no initial understanding, the enthusiasm for making these further efforts will simply ebb away before any progress has been made.