Does the existence of evil call into doubt the existence of God? Show me the argument. Philosophy starts with questions, but attempts at answers are just as important, and these answers require reasoned argument. Cutting through dense philosophical prose, 100 famous and influential arguments are presented in their essence, with premises, conclusions and logical form plainly identified. Key quotations provide a sense of style and approach. Just the Arguments is an invaluable one-stop argument shop.
A concise, formally structured summation of 100 of the most important arguments in Western philosophy The first book of its kind to present the most important and influential philosophical arguments in a clear premise/conclusion format, the language that philosophers use and students are expected to know Offers succinct expositions of key philosophical arguments without bogging them down in commentary Translates difficult texts to core arguments Designed to provides a quick and compact reference to everything from Aquinas’ “Five Ways” to prove the existence of God, to the metaphysical possibilities of a zombie world
"Acknowledgments xiv Introduction: Show Me the Arguments 1 Michael Bruce and Steven Barbone Part I Philosophy of Religion 7 1 Aquinas' Five Ways 9 Timothy J. Pawl 2 The Contingency Cosmological Argument 18 Mark T. Nelson 3 The Kalam Argument for the Existence of God 22 Harry Lesser 4 The Ontological Argument 25 Sara L. Uckelman 5 Pascal's Wager 28 Leslie Burkholder 6 James' Will to Believe Argument 32 A. T. Fyfe 7 The Problem of Evil 35 Michael Bruce and Steven Barbone 8 The Free Will Defense to the Problem of Evil 37 Grant Sterling 9 St. Anselm on Free Choice and the Power to Sin 40 Julia Hermann 10 Hume's Argument against Miracles 44 Tommaso Piazza 11 The Euthyphro Dilemma 49 David Baggett 12 Nietzsche's Death of God 52 Tom Grimwood 13 Ockham's Razor 57 Grant Sterling Part II Metaphysics 59 14 Parmenides' Refutation of Change 61 Adrian Bardon 15 McTaggart's Argument against the Reality of Time 64 M. Joshua Mozersky 16 Berkeley's Master Argument for Idealism 68 John M. DePoe 17 Kant's Refutation of Idealism 70 Adrian Bardon 18 The Master Argument of Diodorus Cronus 73 Ludger Jansen 19 Lewis' Argument for Possible Worlds 76 David Vander Laan 20 A Reductionist Account of Personal Identity 79 Fauve Lybaert 21 Split-Case Arguments about Personal Identity 86 Ludger Jansen 22 The Ship of Theseus 88 Ludger Jansen 23 The Problem of Temporary Intrinsics 90 Montserrat Bordes 24 A Modern Modal Argument for the Soul 93 Rafal Urbaniak and Agnieszka Rostalska 25 Two Arguments for the Harmlessness of Death 99 Epicurus' Death is Nothing to Us Argument 99 Steven Luper Lucretius' Symmetry Argument 100 Nicolas Bommarito 26 The Existence of Forms: Plato's Argument from the Possibility of Knowledge 102 Jurgis (George) Brakas 27 Plato, Aristotle, and the Third Man Argument 106 Jurgis (George) Brakas 28 Logical Monism 111 Luis Estrada-González 29 The Maximality Paradox 115 Nicola Ciprotti 30 An Argument for Free Will 119 Gerald Harrison 31 Frankfurt's Refutation of the Principle of Alternative Possibilities 121 Gerald Harrison 32 Van Inwagen's Consequence Argument against Compatibilism 123 Grant Sterling 33 Fatalism 125 Fernando Migura and Agustin Arrieta 34 Sartre's Argument for Freedom 128 Jeffrey Gordon Part III Epistemology 131 35 The Cogito Arguments of Descartes and Augustine 133 Descartes' Cogito 133 Joyce Lazier Augustine's ""Si fallor, sum""Argument (If I Am Mistaken, I Exist) 135 Brett Gaul 36 The Cartesian Dreaming Argument for External-World Skepticism 137 Stephen Hetherington 37 The Transparency of Experience Argument 142 Carlos Mario Muñoz-Suárez 38 The Regress Argument for Skepticism 146 Scott Aikin 39 Moore's Anti-Skeptical Arguments 152 Matthew Frise 40 The Bias Paradox 154 Deborah Heikes 41 Gettier's Argument against the Traditional Account of Knowledge 156 John M. DePoe 42 Putnam's Argument against Cultural Imperialism 159 Maria Caamaño 43 Davidson on the Very Idea of a Conceptual Scheme 162 George Wrisley 44 Quine's Two Dogmas of Empiricism 169 Robert Sinclair 45 Hume and the Problem of Induction 174 Hume's Problem of Induction 174 James E. Taylor Hume's Negative Argument concerning Induction 176 Stefanie Rocknak 46 Argument by Analogy in Thales and Anaximenes 180 Giannis Stamatellos 47 Quine's Epistemology Naturalized 183 Robert Sinclair 48 Sellars and the Myth of the Given 188 Willem A. deVries 49 Sellars' ""Rylean Myth"" 193 Willem A. deVries 50 Aristotle and the Argument to End All Arguments 198 Toni Vogel Carey Part IV Ethics 201 51 Justice Brings Happiness in Plato's Republic 203 Joshua I. Weinstein 52 Aristotle's Function Argument 208 Sean McAleer 53 Aristotle's Argument that Goods are Irreducible 211 Jurgis (George) Brakas 54 Aristotle's Argument for Perfectionism 214 Eric J. Silverman 55 Categorical Imperative as the Source for Morality 217 Joyce Lazier 56 Kant on Why Autonomy Deserves Respect 221 Mark Piper 57 Mill's Proof of Utilitarianism 223 A. T. Fyfe 58 The Experience Machine Objection to Hedonism 229 Dan Weijers 59 The Error Theory Argument 232 Robert L. Muhlnickel 60 Moore's Open Question Argument 237 Bruno Verbeek 61 Wolff's Argument for the Rejection of State Authority 240 Ben Saunders 62 Nozick's Taxation Is Forced Labor Argument 242 Jason Waller 63 Charity is Obligatory 244 Joakim Sandberg 64 The Repugnant Conclusion 247 Joakim Sandberg 65 Taurek on Numbers Don't Count 249 Ben Saunders 66 Parfit's Leveling Down Argument against Egalitarianism 251 Ben Saunders 67 Nozick's Wilt Chamberlain Argument 254 Fabian Wendt 68 Liberal Feminism 258 Julinna C. Oxley 69 Moral Status of Animals from Marginal Cases 263 Julia Tanner 70 The Ethical Vegetarianism Argument 265 Robert L. Muhlnickel 71 Thomson and the Famous Violinist 269 Leslie Burkholder 72 Marquis and the Immorality of Abortion 273 Leslie Burkholder 73 Tooley on Abortion and Infanticide 275 Ben Saunders 74 Rachels on Euthanasia 277 Leslie Burkholder Part V Philosophy of Mind 281 75 Leibniz' Argument for Innate Ideas 283 Byron Kaldis 76 Descartes' Arguments for the Mind–Body Distinction 290 Dale Jacquette 77 Princess Elisabeth and the Mind–Body Problem 297 Jen McWeeny 78 Kripke's Argument for Mind–Body Property Dualism 301 Dale Jacquette 79 The Argument from Mental Causation for Physicalism 304 Amir Horowitz 80 Davidson's Argument for Anomalous Monism 308 Amir Horowitz 81 Putnam's Multiple Realization Argument against Type-Physicalism 311 Amir Horowitz 82 The Supervenience Argument against Non-Reductive Physicalism 314 Andrew Russo 83 Ryle's Argument against Cartesian Internalism 318 Agustin Arrieta and Fernando Migura 84 Jackson's Knowledge Argument 320 Amir Horowitz 85 Nagel's ""What Is It Like to Be a Bat"" Argument against Physicalism 324 Amy Kind 86 Chalmer's Zombie Argument 327 Amy Kind 87 The Argument from Revelation 330 Carlos Mario Muñoz-Suárez 88 Searle and the Chinese Room Argument 334 Leslie Burkholder Part VI Science and Language 337 89 Sir Karl Popper's Demarcation Argument 339 Liz Stillwaggon Swan 90 Kuhn's Incommensurability Arguments 341 Liz Stillwaggon Swan and Michael Bruce 91 Putnam's No Miracles Argument 344 Liz Stillwaggon Swan 92 Galileo's Falling Bodies 346 Liz Stillwaggon Swan 93 Eliminative Materialism 348 Charlotte Blease 94 Wittgenstein's Private Language Argument 350 George Wrisley 95 Fodor's Argument for Linguistic Nativism 355 Majid Amini 96 Fodor and the Impossibility of Learning 359 Majid Amini 97 Quine on the Indeterminacy of Translation 362 Robert Sinclair 98 Davidson's Argument for the Principle of Charity 367 Maria Caamaño 99 Frege's Argument for Platonism 370 Ivan Kasa 100 Mathematical Platonism 373 Nicolas Pain Appendix A: Learning the Logical Lingo 377 Appendix B: Rules of Inference and Replacement 378 Notes on Contributors 380 Index 391"
Michael Bruce currently researches in the history of philosophy. He has taught philosophy and mathematics courses at the University of Washington's Robinson Center for Young Scholars. Steven Barbone is Associate Professor of Philosophy at San Diego State University.
Reviews for Just the Arguments: 100 of the Most Important Arguments in Western Philosophy
A useful resource for an undergraduate library, this book also would be suitable for undergraduate courses, particularly introduction to philosophy, logic, and critical thinking. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and general readers. ( Choice , 1 September 2012)
