LibGuides: OER: Open Educational Resources: Philosophy (PHI)

Philosophy

An Introduction to Philosophy by Russ W. Payne
Call Number: OER

Publication Date: 2023

The goal of this text is to present philosophy to newcomers as a living discipline with historical roots. While a few early chapters are historically organized, the goal in the historical chapters is to trace a developmental progression of thought that introduces basic philosophical methods and frames issues that remain relevant today. Later chapters are topically organized. These include philosophy of science and philosophy of mind, areas where philosophy has shown dramatic recent progress. This text concludes with four chapters on ethics, broadly construed. Traditional theories of right action is covered in a third of these. Students are first invited first to think about what is good for themselves and their relationships in a chapter of love and happiness. Next a few meta-ethical issues are considered; namely, whether they are moral truths and if so what makes them so. The end of the ethics sequence addresses social justice, what it is for one's community to be good. Our sphere of concern expands progressively through these chapters. Our inquiry recapitulates the course of development into moral maturity. Over the course of the text, the author has tried to outline the continuity of thought that leads from the historical roots of philosophy to a few of the diverse areas of inquiry that continue to make significant contributions to our understanding of ourselves and the world we live in.
Introduction to Philosophy by Nathan Smith
Call Number: OER

ISBN: 9781951693596

Publication Date: 2022-06-15

Designed to meet the scope and sequence of your course, Introduction to Philosophy surveys logic, metaphysics, epistemology, theories of value, and history of philosophy thematically. To provide a strong foundation in global philosophical discourse, diverse primary sources and examples are central to the design, and the text emphasizes engaged reading, critical thinking, research, and analytical skill-building through guided activities.

Critical Thinking by Brian Kim
Call Number: OER

Publication Date: September 1, 2019 - Updated: 09-09-2024

Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally about what to do or what to believe. It includes the ability to engage in reflective and independent thinking.
Mastering Thinking by Michael Ireland - Editor: Samara Rowling
Call Number: OER

ISBN: 9780645679656

Publication Date: August 26, 2024

Welcome to this textbook on critical thinking and scientific reasoning. The scope of this text is admittedly very ambitious, so let’s put it into the most general terms: You have been gifted with a 1.5 kilogram supercomputer between your ears, and unfortunately, it never came with anything like an operating manual. Therefore, the broad purpose of this text is to help you learn how to get the most out of this extraordinary device.

Applied Ethics Primer by Letitia Meynell and Clarisse Paron
Call Number: OER

Publication Date: September 15, 2021

Every applied ethics course requires some brief introduction, survey, or primer on ethical theory and moral decision-making. At the same time, spending too much time on argumentation and normative ethical theory can take precious course time away from the applied issues that are the focus of the course. This Applied Ethics Primer offers a concise introduction to both basic argumentation and normative ethical theory. The concepts discussed reflect the ethical theories that currently ground most professional ethics codes and debates in applied ethics. Somewhat more inclusive than many similar resources, this primer offers students a taste of the truly global history of ethics, while still being squarely focussed on providing practical tools for ethical decision-making. It is appropriate for any introductory applied ethics course.
Critical Thinking: Analysis and Evaluation of Argument by Hannah Love; Martha Bailey; Martin Wittenberg; Shirlee Geiger
Call Number: OER

Publication Date: 06-23-2017 Updated: Spring 2023

"It is our hope that the successful student who completes a class using all or some of this text will have improved skills with application inside the discipline of philosophy, but also with application to work in other disciplines within academia. Our ultimate goal, however, is to help people develop techniques which support curiosity, open-mindedness, and an ability to collaborate successfully with others, across differences of experiences and background. Our dream is to help people “put their heads together.”" - works with PHI 111
Introduction to Philosophy: Ethics by Frank Aragbonfoh Abumere; Douglas Giles; Ya-Yun (Sherry) Kao; Michael Klenk; Joseph Kranak; Kathryn MacKay; Jeffrey Morgan; Paul Rezkalla; George Matthews (Book Editor); and Christina Hendricks (Series Editor)
Call Number: OER

ISBN: 9781989014189

Publication Date: 2019 - Updated: 09-09-2022

We often make judgments about good and bad, right and wrong. Philosophical ethics is the critical examination of these and other concepts central to how we evaluate our own and each others' behavior and choices. This text examines some of the main threads of discussion on these topics that have developed over the last couple of millenia, mostly within the Western cultural tradition.

Modern Philosophy by Walter Ott
Call Number: OER

Publication Date: 2013 - Updated: 09-19-2023

"This is a textbook in modern philosophy. It combines readings from primary sources with two pedagogical tools. Paragraphs in italics introduce figures and texts. Numbered study questions (also in italics) ask students to reconstruct an argument or position from the text, or draw connections among the readings. And I have added an introductory chapter (Chapter 0 – Minilogic and Glossary), designed to present the basic tools of philosophy and sketch some principles and positions. The immediate goal is to encourage students to grapple with the ideas rather than passing their eyes over the texts. This makes for a better classroom experience and permits higher-level discussions...." - works with PHI 151 & PHI 153
The Originals: Classic Readings in Western Philosophy by Dr. Jeff McLaughlin
Call Number: OER

Publication Date: December 14, 2017 - Updated: 01-19-2022

"It is important for students not only to get an appreciation and understanding of philosophy but also to be exposed to the very words and ideas of those who have shaped our thinking over the centuries. Accordingly, the title of this collection hints at the facts that these readings are from the original sources and that these philosophers were the originators of many of the issues we still discuss today.
Major areas of philosophy covered here are: Ethics, Epistemology, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Religion, Ethics, Socio-Political Philosophy, and finally, Aesthetics." - works with PHI 151
Readings in Western Philosophy for Louisiana Learners by Jeff McLaughlin - Editors: Marco Altamarino; Michael Martin; Peter Klubek; and Ryland Johnson
Call Number: OER

Publication Date: January 01, 2024 - Updated: 11-14-2024

It is important for students not only to get an appreciation and understanding of philosophy but also to be exposed to the very words and ideas of those who have shaped our thinking over the centuries. Accordingly, the title of this collection hints at the facts that these readings are from the original sources and that these philosophers were the originators of many of the issues we still discuss today.
Major areas of philosophy covered here are Ethics, Epistemology, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Religion, Ethics, Sociopolitical Philosophy, and finally, Aesthetics.

The Art of Becoming Infinite: Mou Zongsan’s Vertical Rethinking of Self and Subjectivity by Gabriella Stanchina
Call Number: OER

ISBN: 9781805114789

Publication Date: 2025-01-27

Mou Zongsan is arguably the most important Chinese philosopher of the twentieth century. This work delves into the philosopher's exploration of self and subjectivity, setting Mou Zongsan's theories against Western paradigms. Mou contrasts Western 'horizontal' model, based on the separation of subject and object, and aimed at cognitive enhancement, with the 'vertical' view dominant in the Confucian and Daoist tradition. The vertical model has, at its core, a practical-performative interpretation of the subject, based on the moral self-cultivation. This spiritual cultivation enables the finite human being to 'become infinite, ' embodying the original unlimited moral mind that constitutes the Self and the universe. In addressing fundamental questions of self-consciousness and self-identity, the book contextualizes Mou's philosophy within contemporary discussions in neuroscience and cognitive science. By placing Mou's ideas in dialogue with Western thought-examining thinkers like Husserl, Kant, Hegel, and Lévinas-as well as with Daoist and Confucian vision of mind, this work opens a pathway to understanding selfhood beyond purely epistemological boundaries. This book will be of interest to readers and scholars interested in the contemporary debate about mind and the Self, as well as those intrigued by the new horizons opened by a cross-cultural Western-Chinese approach to subjectivity.
Modern Philosophy by Walter Ott
Call Number: OER

Publication Date: 2013 - Updated: 09-19-2023

"This is a textbook in modern philosophy. It combines readings from primary sources with two pedagogical tools. Paragraphs in italics introduce figures and texts. Numbered study questions (also in italics) ask students to reconstruct an argument or position from the text, or draw connections among the readings. And I have added an introductory chapter (Chapter 0 – Minilogic and Glossary), designed to present the basic tools of philosophy and sketch some principles and positions. The immediate goal is to encourage students to grapple with the ideas rather than passing their eyes over the texts. This makes for a better classroom experience and permits higher-level discussions...." - works with PHI 151 & PHI 153
South and East Asian Philosophy Reader by Noah Levin
Call Number: OER

Publication Date: January, 2017 - Updated: January 2019

It is Euro-centric to refer to all the Philosophies of Asia as “Eastern” as it unfairly groups the quite various Philosophies that developed in West Asia (Zoroastrianism), South Asia (Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism, Sikhism), and East Asia (Ch’an Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shintoism) into a single unit that implies they are quite similar. Other than their relative geographic proximity, the various philosophies are, in many ways, more different than those philosophies that have been developed in Europe and the other parts of the world.