Sound Bite
What do you think and why do you think so? What's the philosophy behind your basic choices and actions? This book will challenge you to think clearly and deeply about the ideas you cherish. Ultimately, the aim is for you to find a personal direction for your life, one that is informed by the thoughts of philosophers for the past 2,000 years.
About the Author
Burton Porter earned his Ph.D. at St. Andrews University (Scotland), which included graduate studies at Oxford University. He has been on the faculty at several institutions including Drexel University, Russell Sage College, Mount Holyoke College, and the University of Maryland (European Division). At present, he teaches philosophy at Western New England University.
Dr. Porter writes both academic and fiction works, and has published a number of books as well as papers and reviews. Among his recent book publications are: Finding Your Own Philosophy of Life, Algora (2016); The Age of Disinformation: A Contempt for Truth; Authenticity; Forbidden Knowledge; African Metaphor; The Good Life: Options In Ethics; The Great Perhaps: God as a Question; What the Tortoise Taught Us; and Philosophy Through Film.
He received the award of Outstanding Educator of America, and the Faculty Research Award at Western New England University. He lives outside Amherst. MA with his wife, Barbara, and has a son, Mark, a daughter, Ans, and a stepdaughter, Sarah. His interests range from philosophy to music to literature.
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About the Book
We will explore how to develop a clear mind, what is the nature of human nature, how to trust what we think we know, and whether there is a God who governs our existence. We will examine whether we are wholly conditioned by society or make free...
We will explore how to develop a clear mind, what is the nature of human nature, how to trust what we think we know, and whether there is a God who governs our existence. We will examine whether we are wholly conditioned by society or make free decisions; if art is a matter of taste or if there's good taste and bad taste; and if we have a spiritual self hidden within our physical body. We will also examine whether moral values are invented or discovered, the best form of government, and whether life ends at the grave or persists throughout eternity.The book will challenge you to judge the various answers to these questions that have been proposed by profound thinkers, and in the light of these, to find your own philosophy of life. The ongoing question is how best to live.
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Chapter 1. Thinking Straight
� 'What Is Truth?' retorted Pilate
� Relevant Facts and Plausible Interpretations
� Avoiding the Pitfalls
Chapter 2. Human Nature: Are We Beastlier
Chapter 1. Thinking Straight
� 'What Is Truth?' retorted Pilate
� Relevant Facts and Plausible Interpretations
� Avoiding the Pitfalls
Chapter 2. Human Nature: Are We Beastlier Than Any Beast?
� Historical Notions of Human Nature
� The Depravity of Man
� Basic Decency and Goodness
� The Caring Gene
Chapter 3. Acquiring Knowledge: Should We Lose Our Minds and Come To Our Senses?
� Seeing Is Believing
� The Empiricism of David Hume
� Hume may not be right, but on empiricist grounds it is hard to refute the notion that causation is a mistake.
� Keeping Our Wits About Us
� The Rationalism of Ren�© Descartes
Chapter 4. The Existence of God: Are We Here By Chance Or By Design?
� Does God Exist?
� The Cosmological Argument
� Earthly Design Implies a Divine Designer
� Can We Reconcile Human Suffering and Divine Love?
Chapter 5. The Fair Distribution of Wealth: Freedom vs. Equality
� Does Economic Inequality Indicate an Unfair System?
� The Forces Opposing Equal Opportunity
� The Consequences of Inequality
� A Suggested Solution
Chapter 6. Nature Times Nurture Equals Behavior: Do We Ever Make a Free Choice?
� Our Fate Is Sealed
� Causal Determinism
� The Hidden Fracture Lines
Chapter 7. Honesty and Integrity: Should Truthfulness Depend Upon the Situation?
� Honesty
� � Self-Deception
� Lies in Politics
� The Level of Rhetoric
Chapter 8. Good Taste and Bad Taste: Is Beauty In the Eye of the Beholder?
� Distinctions In Aesthetics
� Good Art As Faithful Representation
� The Standard of Significant Form
� Emotive Expression
Chapter 9. Business is Business: Do Capitalists Have a Social Responsibility?
� The Causes of the Near Meltdown
� The Dark Side of Capitalism
� A Fair Profit and Just Compensation
Chapter 10. Persons As Matter In Motion: Is There a Ghost In the Machine?
� The Self in Time and Space
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Pages 212 Year: 2016 BISAC: PHI035000 PHILOSOPHY / Essays
Soft Cover ISBN: 978-1-62894-225-5
Price: USD 19.95
Hard Cover ISBN: 978-1-62894-226-2
Price: USD 29.95
eBook ISBN: 978-1-62894-227-9
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