Necessary Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy
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Description
This book offers an accessible introduction to the whole field of philosophy. It takes the key areas of the subject — Mind, Knowledge, Language and Logic, Science, Morality, Politics, and Law — and traces the root concepts of each. outlining the advantages and disadvantages of the various positions that can be taken up. The historical dimension is briefly explored. with the work of the great philosophers of the past explained and put into meaningful' context. There are special biographical profiles of Plato, Aquinas, Descartes, Hobbes, Kant, Frege, and Popper in the chapters where their crucial contributions are analyzed. This is not, however, an historical survey of philosophy; what Anthony Appiah does is to give the reader a clear and comprehensive guide to some of the momentous questions that concern thinking people in a literate culture today, and to the terms in which philosophers address those questions. The book introduces the work of a number of today's challenging philosophers. and gives a flavor of the controversies surrounding the recent vigorous developments in philosophical debate. There is a helpful annotated bibliography and an extensive glossary of philosophical terms to ensure that even if this is your first book on the subject, it will not be your last.
Publication Date
1989
Recommended Citation
Appiah, Kwame Anthony, "Necessary Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy" (1989). Faculty Books & Edited Works. 46.
https://gretchen.law.nyu.edu/fac-books-edited-works/46
