PHI 1010 - Introduction to Philosophy

The readings in this guide are organized primarily by the author/philosopher. In some cases, readings are placed with the philosopher who is the subject of the reading instead of the author(s) of the reading.

PURPOSE

This guide consists of a collection of readings for students in PHI 1010 Introduction to Philosophy courses and serves as an affordable electronic textbook. Only students currently enrolled in a PHI 1010 course should access this content.  

SCOPE

The readings in this guide have been curated by the Full-Time Philosophy Faculty to ensure that all Course Intended Outcomes (CIO) for PHI 1010 are appropriately supported. The PHI 1010 CIOs are:

The student will...

1. identify major areas of philosophical inquiry, e.g. metaphysics, epistemology, logic, aesthetics, political philosophy
2. identify and explain the relation of philosophy to other disciplines, and their relation to each other, e.g., mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences, humanities
3. identify and assess selected philosophical problems in metaphysics, e.g., the existence of god, the existence of free will
4. identify and assess selected philosophical problems in epistemology, e.g., is knowledge possible, empiricism vs. rationalism
5. recognize and employ selected philosophical concepts in logic, e.g., the nature of contradiction, fallacious reasoning
6. analyze and evaluate selected philosophical problems in value theory (moral philosophy, aesthetics, social and political philosophy, philosophy of religion, and feminist philosophy)
7. recognize major classical and modern philosophers and appraise their views, e.g., Plato, Kant, Schopenhauer
8. analyze and evaluate belief systems and attitudes different from her or his own
9. describe, differentiate, and compare non-western and alternative philosophies