Classic Philosophical Questions

by James A. Gould

This book stimulates readers' interest in philosophy with an innovative and appropriate “sides of the argument” presentation, and readings that represent a position on each of the fundamental philosophical questions. Using debate and argument as a vehicle, this reader highlights the fundamentals of philosophy. It also demonstrates that philosophy is a discourse that has spanned centuries while stressing the importance of the philosophical debate. Classic and contemporary readings cover over twenty-five issues and current topics such as free will, abortion, metaphysics, pornography, and ethics. Social, political and religious philosophy are discussed through contributions ranging from the works of Plato, St. Thomas Aquinas, Kierkegaard, Aristotle, Descartes, Hume, Tolstoy, and Locke. For anyone ready for the challenge of the basic inquiries that philosophers have pondered for centuries.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

641 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

Reviews

[Timothy Rooney]

Very dense subject matter... Most of it is well presented. Some of the material is very tedious so it would be difficult to present in a compelling way. Regardless of that, this seems like a good, thorough introduction to philosophy.

[Samantha]

"Classic Philosophical Questions" is a brilliant, comprehensive book, in my opinion. It is well structured and detailed; I love how it includes a series of philosophical questions after each section. I run a philosophy club at my highschool, so this book has been a wonderful reference guide for me so far.

[Belle Meade School]

100

[Vince Darcangelo]

Faves:

Bertrand Russell: "The Value of Philosophy"

Charles Pierce: "Four Approaches to Philosophy"

St. Anselm: "The Ontological Argument"

Soren Kierkegaard: "Faith, Not Logic, is the Basis of Belief"

David Hume: "A Good God Would Exclude Evil"

John Hick: "God Can Allow Some Evil"

Jean-Paul Sartre: "Existentialist Ethics"

Bertrand Russell: "Truth is Established by Correspondence"

Norwood Hanson: "Causes and Becauses"

David Hume: "There Are No Possible Grounds for Induction"

Fyodor Dostoyevsky: "Freedom is Authority"

Albert Camus: "Each Person Determines His or Her Life's Meaning"

[Nadosia Grey]

I found this textbook extremely useful--perhaps the most useful out of all textbooks I have read for class. I loved the summary at the beginning of the works as well as the "further readings" at the end of them. I could easily make interdisiplinary connections with other classes using this books, and indeed I did so often.

Most of the readings are clear and concise which is essential when dealing with intricate philosophical questions. The hardest sections were ones concerned with Kant lol. I don't think I'll ever get used to his writing. I'm definitely keeping this book as a reference/guide in my future studies.

[Krystyne]

Great book to read as a refresher. The book consists of all major philosophers from ancient times like Socrates and Plato to twentieth century philosophers. It's very interesting to see the diverse uses of logic. I can agree and disagree with parts of each theory. It's interesting. Some of it is dry but that may be because of translation.

[Zedder]

I'm using this in the intro. class I'm currently teaching. The translation of the Meditations that it contains is horrible. And I mean horrible.

[Jason Emmerson]

Decent introduction to Philosophy, though multiple sides to an argument are not always fairly represented.

[Regina Hunter]

I liked the way of learning by questioning, but thranslations are horrible... easier to read the complete works.

[Christine MM]

I LOVED this textbook. Teaching you basic principles of philosophy with actual texts by famous (or not so famous) philosophers. Would read again!