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Title: Doing Philosophy: An Introduction Through Thought Experiments
ISBN: 0072991976
Author:
Theodore Schick
Lewis Vaughn
Publicate Date: 2005-12-15
Publish: 2005-12-15
List Price: $49.00
Average Customer Rating: 2.5
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $49.00
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $28.50
Amazon Merchant Price: $99.69
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| Customer Review: |
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1: A tad dogmatic, but very clear and analytical....
Schick and Vaughn do a fine job of presenting and explaining philosophical problems and theories about free will, the relationship of body and mind, personal identity, morality, the existence of God, and the limits of knowledge. Their presentation is rather rigorous for an introductory text, but their frequent use of thought experiments helps make very abstract topics more accessible. Yes, they do take stands on the issues they discuss, and their secularist axe-grinding can come across as somewhat heavy handed. It can certainly antagonize some students and readers. But this is a minor flaw in an otherwise high quality introductory text. Rather than trying to maintain bogus neutrality, Schick and Vaughn actually "do" philosophy and show how one can arrive at conclusions--even disputable conclusions--using philosophy's methods, and this is to their credit. As for Mr. Newman's sarcastic comment that "all of the great minds that approached" divine command theory in the past are not up to Schick and Vaughn's "genius"--may I ask which great minds he has in mind? It is true that many great religious thinkers can be classified as divine command theorists. But if we look at the tradition of great Western philosophers, many (and probably most) are not. What about Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Locke, Leibniz, Kant, and Mill, just to name a few? Moreover, some of these have dismissed divine command theory as pithily as our textbook authors, so Schick and Vaughn are hardly being revolutionary, let alone irresponsibly impudent, when, for example, they follow Leibniz in rejecting the divine command approach. All in all, this is a very solid introductory textbook that emphasizes how to think philosophically. I highly recommend it.
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2: The Humanist Manifesto
Disguised as an introductory text in philosophy, what you actually have here is an introduction to Atheism. Whereas the format of the text is quite appealing, with interesting quotes and and "boxed" tidbits of information, the content is lacking. Shick and Vaughn (author of The Case for Humanism) do not miss one opportunity to attack belief in God, and especially belief in a Christian God. I am accustomed to rigorous philosophical questioning, but the authors go well beyond that. They force anti-Christian examples into unrelated topics and all of the boxed 'extra tidbits' for discussion are geared to refute belief in God. They clearly have an agenda in writing this text; one that does not belong in an introduction to Philosophy text. For example, they 'prove' in about a paragraph that God and/or the Bible cannot form the basis of morals---I suppose all of the great minds that approached this subject in the past were not comparable to the genius of Shick and Vaughn...or perhaps someone should inform the authors that their dogma is showing.
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3: Interesting and Good...If You're Interested In Philosophy
This is a "textbook", strictly speaking, meant for introductory philosophy students. (But, if you aren't a "philosophy student," the book is still easy to read.) It is meant for the person who is an absolute tyco (novice) in philosophy, someone who has no previous knowledge or experience in the study. Schick deals with the major philosophical problems that have been puzzling people (as well as philosophers) over the millennia, like the mind-body, personal identity, God's existence, and other problems. What makes the book interesting, though, is the numerous examples and quotes that Schick provides throughout to text, not merely to re-emphasize a concept or two but to also convince people that philosophy is still being debated in these modern times. Theodore Schick writes quite well and will entertain as well as inform. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in knowing whether you now are you in the future, or if the mind is a separate part of the body, or...
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