First Philosophy: Knowing and Being brings together over thirty classic and contemporary readings in epistemology and metaphysics. Mindful of the intrinsic difficulty of the material, the editors provide comprehensive introductions both to each topic and to each individual selection. By presenting a detailed discussion of the historical and intellectual background to each piece, the editors enable readers to approach the material without unnecessary barriers to understanding. A brief introduction to arguments is included, as are appendices on terminology and philosophical puzzles and paradoxes.

Andrew Bailey’s highly-regarded introductory anthology has been revised and updated in this new concise edition. Mindful of the intrinsic difficulty of the material, the editors provide comprehensive introductions both to each topic and to each individual selection. By presenting a detailed discussion of the historical and intellectual background to each piece, the editors enable readers to approach the material without unnecessary barriers to understanding. Helpful explanatory footnotes are provided throughout, and new sections on philosophical puzzles and paradoxes and philosophical terminology have been added.

First Philosophy: God, Mind, and Freedom brings together classic and ground-breaking readings on metaphysics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of religion. Andrew Bailey's highly regarded introductory anthology has been revised and updated in this new edition. The comprehensive introductory material for each chapter and selection remains, and new sections on philosophical puzzles and paradoxes and philosophical terminology have been added. New to this edition are readings from Alvin Plantinga, Frank Jackson, David Chalmers, A.J. Ayer, Bernard Williams, and Thomas Nagel.

First Philosophy: Knowledge and Reality brings together classic and ground-breaking readings on epistemology and the philosophy of science. Andrew Bailey’s highly regarded introductory anthology has been revised and updated in this new edition. The comprehensive introductory material for each chapter and selection remains, and new sections on philosophical puzzles and paradoxes and philosophical terminology have been added. New readings include Edmund Gettier on justified true belief, Wesley Salmon on induction, and Helen Longino on feminist science.

First Philosophy: Values and Society brings together classic and ground-breaking readings on ethics and political philosophy. Andrew Bailey’s highly regarded introductory anthology has been revised and updated in this new edition. The comprehensive introductory material for each chapter and selection remains, and new sections on philosophical puzzles and paradoxes and philosophical terminology have been added. New to this edition is an article by Susan Moller Okin on justice and gender.

This is an introductory textbook of metaphysics, whose aim is to help a beginning student. . . . According to St. Thomas, the human intellect must begin with sensible things, and hence all principles must somehow be found in sense experience. The discovery of principles is an induction, as I hope to prove in this text. But there is no danger of empiricism or sensism, if we remember that point on which Aristotle and St. Thomas were ready to stake their whole philosoophy, namely, that sensible things are potentially intelligible. With regard to the manner of presentation, this book is not 'St. Thomas made simple.' St. Thomas's thought is not simple, and attempted simplifications usually end by simplifying the positions and letting the reasoning go. The method of this book attempts to provide for the necessary introductory character of the course by selecting only a few of the problems of metaphysics for study and by giving as concrete a presentation of the evidence as possible. --from the Preface

In 'All Things Are Possible', Jewish Russian philosopher Lev Shestov challenges the notion of fate and necessity by embracing the philosophy of possibility and freedom. Translated by the renowned author D.H. Lawrence, Shestov's work offers a unique perspective on what it means to be human, and the struggles we face against limitations and determinisms. Shestov's rigorous examination of the human experience takes readers on a journey of self-discovery and faith, as he explores the infinite potential of the human psyche and the possibility of a new, liberating ideal.

How does science work? Does it tell us what the world is “really” like? What makes it different from other ways of understanding the universe? In Theory and Reality, Peter Godfrey-Smith addresses these questions by taking the reader on a grand tour of more than a hundred years of debate about science. The result is a completely accessible introduction to the main themes of the philosophy of science. Examples and asides engage the beginning student, a glossary of terms explains key concepts, and suggestions for further reading are included at the end of each chapter. Like no other text in this field, Theory and Reality combines a survey of recent history of the philosophy of science with current key debates that any beginning scholar or critical reader can follow. The second edition is thoroughly updated and expanded by the author with a new chapter on truth, simplicity, and models in science.

Drawing upon the work of Quine, Rawls, Rorty and others, Gutting challenges the standard view about what philosophers have achieved.

Descartes' Meditations is one of the most commonly studied texts in introductory philosophy courses. Rather than simply telling the reader what to think, Meditations invites them to undertake a philosophical journey for themselves. This book is designed to accompany readers on that journey; it prepares them for its demands, helps them to engage with each stage of the text, and suggests ways through the more difficult passages. Brandhorst offers students a fresh approach by bringing to life the path of self-discovery encapsulated in the work and maintaining the focus on metaphysics. Readers are guided through the text step-by-step, which encourages careful reading and presents them with the opportunity to learn to philosophise for themselves. This book engages with what the text says, rather than what is said about the text, in order to help readers discover - or rediscover - for themselves what Meditations has to say.