Mixture of classic writers that were pretty deep. Truthfully some of the classic writers were over my head (Plato, Aristotle, John Dewey, etc.). The rest of the book was more contemporary with essays from a culturally diverse population of writers. I had to buy it for a Philosopy of Ed. class and managed to get by with an A, but some of the classic writer's I'd like to read again, and again (since I probably won't get what in the heck they're saying the first time around). Something to put on your summer reading list for professional enrichment.

Dr. Cahn puts together an interesting and essential collection of essays which explore both the issues that philosophers have dealt with over the centuries and those which inspire the contemporary, perhaps more political, philosophical mind.

Purists may say that abortion, affirmative action, euthenasia and capital punishment are political matters entirely or, alternatively, that much more of an understanding of ethics and the basics are required before their introduction. They may lament the lack of some of the classics. Meanwhile, average readers may wonder what the use is of considering whether I know that this table in front of me exists and is really black.

As a whole, the introduction of significant philsophical debates of the past, whether useful today or not, provides the reader with needed philsophical background, while the more provocative essays give us material on which to test the reasoning skills introduced; as a whole, the material is weight towards the latter, provocative essay. Also, the book is constructed such that skipping between essays and sections is entirely possible. I would recomend, however, a straight reading.

Sections include: Reasoning, Knowledge and Self, God, Morality, and Society. Many sides are introduced, including defense of the religious point of view. My personal fave was the discussion of theodicy, explaining why God would allow evil.

This book outlines, in excruciating but necessary detail, the argument that the laws of logic alone, with no further premises, prove that no man has free will. All other arguments against free will (argument from cause and effect, argument from omniscience) are covered only insofar as they relate to the main argument.

Very early in the book, Cahn notes that he believes the argument for fatalism to be unsound. The majority of the book is then spent outlining the argument in *favor* of fatalism. Cahn feels that most philosophers have not given fatalism and its supporting arguments the full credit they deserve, and goes to amazing lengths to build a seemingly air-tight case supporting fatalism.

If Cahn had stopped at chapter seven, he would have completely converted me to the belief that man has no free will. Fortunately, there is a chapter eight. In this final chapter, Cahn disagrees with fatalism by disputing the law of the exluded middle (which says that any statement must be true or, if not true, must be false). He defends this seemingly absurd argument just as skillfully and clearly as he defends the seemingly absurd argument for fatalism.

There are no wandering analogies or poetic language in this book. Cahn is logical, direct, and each statement has one specific meaning. Occasionaly, sentences are tortured due to Cahn's need to eliminate all vagueness and the strangness of fatalistic arguments. For example:

"[The premise is important], for if it is now false that it will be the case that a sea-fight will take place tomorrow, then assuming that tomorrow there is a sea-fight, it is not the case tomorrow that 'anything's being the case definitely implies that it has not been the case that it will never be the case'."

It might be necessary to back up several paragraphs and take a few running attempts at sentences like this in order to grasp the clear meaning, but most statements of this type are accompanied by symbolic logic and all are ultimately understandable.

Ultimately, though, this book is a thorough, logical analysis of one specific argument for a widely dismissed view in the specialized field of philosophy. Although I enjoyed it immensely, most people will find it dry and -- since they already agree with the conclusion -- pointless.

If only all universities were run the way Cahn advocates! He has thought deeply about what a university is supposed to be, and the role of faculty in it. Administrators, students, and, especially, professors will benefit from this book.

I must confess my review is about the third edition, but it got me through understanding many a dry philosophical lecture. The book encompasses many of the great philosophical minds of in western history - the usual Greek medley plus other greats such as Locke, Descartes, Spinoza.
Each set of highlighted works is prefaced by a small biography.
If current western philosophical college curricula is anything to go by this book brings the relevant philosophers together in one place and thus forms a vital part of any student's bookshelf.

This book is definately worth the price and the weight. Cahn selects some of the greatest philosophers of all time! A must for any philosophy student or anyone interested in the subject.

An omnibus of great philosophical writings of the Western world, Cahn's "Classics" is required reading for the one who wants to discover the representative ideas of Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, Kant, Nietszche, and others. The writings have been chosen for their ability to present the essence of each great philosopher's thought. For the reader who wishes to bypass the interpreters and read the philosophers themselves, this volume is a must. With this collection, why should a philosophy student bother with another?

This is an excellent text for historical readings in ethical theories. The writings begin with Plato (Euthyphro, Defence of Socrates, Crito, etc.) and carries the reader into the Contemporary period (i.e. James Rachels, Joel Feinberg, Michael Tooley, etc.).

Every important historical figure and their ethical theories is covered. The group includes, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Epictetus, Augustine, Aquinas, Hobbes, Butler, Hume, Kant, Bentham, Mill, Kierkegaard, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, James, Dewey, Camus, and Sartre. As you can see the historical writers/philosophers are a great mix.

From the modern period the text includes, Moore, Ross, Ayer, Anscombe, Rawls, MacIntyre, Held, Nagel, and many more. Keep in mind that this text is a very comprehensive primary readings source book and nothing more. If you are looking for commentary on the various ethical theories this text will not provide that for you. It is simply, but quite exhaustively, a readings text. This text would be great for teachers who are teaching a type of intro class to ethics (which is fact what I will be doing next semester and using this very text). The only downfall to the text is the fact that it has no glossary or index for easy and quick reference. However, I highly recommend this text as a great compilation of primary sources.

No, not "The Matrix" Hollywood brought us, but the cultural matrix: where traditional logic and abstract thought have a tendency to breakdown. Life is like that. As James would remind us, this is not a "block universe" (what non-philosopher/non-scientist ever thought it was?) and so our ideas often end up bursting under the pressure of more and more experience. How is logic to cope with this? Dewey is not a magician, but in this book he sets out (in rather abstruce, brier-patch prose) to give us a radical new tool kit. If you enjoy seriously thinking about thinking, this book is for you. Bring your coffee, though. Dewey's writing style is rather soporific; and weighing in at over 500 pages, this tome can even knockout the most experienced philosophical heavyweight. That said, I encourage you to shuck your gloves and take a swing!