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Just the Arguments
100 of the Most Important Arguments in Western Philosophy

Michael Bruce (Edited by), M Bruce (Author), Steven Barbone (Edited by)

9781444336375, Wiley

Hardback, published 30 September 2011

432 pages
23.9 x 16.5 x 2.8 cm, 0.735 kg

“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)

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

Subject Areas: Philosophy [HP]
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