In this 9th edition of Core Questions in Philosophy, Elliott Sober and Joel Velasco use an engaging lecture-style format to show students how philosophy is best used to evaluate many different kinds of arguments and to construct sound theories. Well-known historical texts are discussed, not as a means to honor the dead or merely to describe what various philosophers have thought, but to engage with, criticize, and even improve ideas from the past. In addition - because philosophy cannot function apart from its engagement with the wider society - traditional and contemporary philosophical problems are brought into dialogue with the physical, biological, and social sciences. Text boxes highlight key concepts, and review questions, discussion questions, and a glossary of terms are also included.
Core Questions in Philosophy has served as a premier introductory textbook for three decades, with updates to each new edition.
Key updates to this 9th edition include:
A new concluding chapter on the meaning of life The integration of non-Western thinkers throughout the book Expanded discussions on utilitarianism, virtue ethics, free will, and epistemology Updated material from philosophy and empirical research throughout
Revisions to the online list of recommended resources include:
Additional recommendations of supplementary readings, with updated source links to all reading material New recommended videos and podcasts, all organized by their relevance to each chapter in the book
By:
Elliott Sober,
Joel Velasco (Texas Tech University,
USA.)
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: 9th edition
Dimensions:
Height: 254mm,
Width: 178mm,
ISBN: 9781032794259
ISBN 10: 1032794259
Pages: 360
Publication Date: 12 December 2025
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming
Part I: Introduction 1. What Is Philosophy? 2. Deductive Arguments 3. Inductive and Abductive Arguments Part II: Philosophy of Religion 4. Aquinas’s First Four Ways 5. The Design Argument 6. Evolution and Creationism 7. Can Science Explain Everything? 8. The Ontological Argument 9. Is the Existence of God Testable? 10. Pascal and Irrationality 11. The Argument from Evil Part III: Theory of Knowledge 12. What Is Knowledge? 13. Descartes’ Foundationalism 14. The Reliability Theory of Knowledge 15. Justified Belief and Hume’s Problem of Induction 16. Can Hume’s Skepticism Be Refuted? 17. Beyond Foundationalism 18. Locke on the Existence of External Objects 19. Probability and Bayes’s Theorem Part IV: Philosophy of Mind 20. Dualism and the Mind/Body Problem 21. Logical Behaviorism 22. Methodological Behaviorism 23. The Mind/Brain Identity Theory 24. Functionalism 25. Freedom, Determinism, and Causality 26. A Menu of Positions on Free Will 27. Compatibilism 28. Psychological Egoism Part V: Ethics 29. Ethics—Normative and Meta 30. The Is/Ought Gap and the Naturalistic Fallacy 31. Observation and Explanation in Ethics 32. Conventionalist Theories 33. Utilitarianism 34. Kant’s Moral Theory 35. Aristotle on the Good Life 36. The Meaning of Life
Elliott Sober is Hans Reichenbach Professor and William F. Vilas Research Professor in the Philosophy Department at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His most recent book is The Philosophy of Evolutionary Theory (2024). Joel Velasco is Department Chair and Professor in Philosophy at Texas Tech University. He specializes in the philosophy of biology as well as the more general philosophy of science.
Reviews for Core Questions in Philosophy
Praise for the previous editions: ""A really excellent introduction to philosophy does the following: meets the student at their level, then takes them up a notch, and approaches traditional topics in unique and interesting ways. This book does those things."" -- Fred Adams, University of Delaware
