Philosophy: An Introduction Through Original Fiction, Discussion, and a Multi-Media CD-Rom by Thomas D. Davis

1. Freedom and Responsibility
Fiction
"Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends"
"A Little Omniscience Goes a Long Way"
Questions
Discussion
The Determinism-Free-Will Isssue
Freedom of Action and Fatalism
Do We Have Free Will?
Is Free Will Desirable?
Compatibilism, Freedom, and Responsibility
Questions and Exercises
2. Time and Time Travel
Fiction
"All the Time in the World"
Questions
Discussion
Assumptions in the Story
Types of Time Travel
Different Views of Time
Problems with a Changeable Past
A Closer Look at the Concept of Time Travel
Counter-Arguments
Afterthoughts
Questions and Exercises
3. God and Suffering
Fiction
"The Vision"
"Surprise! It's Judgment Day"
Questions
Discussion
Traditional Proofs for God's Existence
The "Big Bang" and the Existence of God
Religious Experience
Atheism and the Problem of Suffering
Omnipotence and Contradiction
Does Happiness Require Unhappiness?
The Free-Will Defense
The Virtue Defense
Questions and Exercises
4. Moral Principles
Fiction
"The Land of Certus"
"Those Who Help Themselves"
"The Sheriff's Wife"
Questions
Discussion
Metaethics and Normative Ethics
Moral Objectivism and Moral Subjectivism
An Argument for Moral Subjectivism
Moral Subjectivism Reconsidered
From the Moral Point of View
Utilitarianism Versus John Rawls
Utilitarianism Versus Immanuel Kant
Questions and Exercises
5. The Right to Die
Fiction
"Death on Demand"
Questions
Discussion
The Right to Die
Some Definitions and Distinctions
General Moral Principle
Social Policy andPractices
Questions and Exercises
6. The Nature of the Mind
Fiction
"Life after Life"
"Strange Behavior"
Questions
Discussion
Two Dualist Theories of Mind
Three Materialist Theories of Mind
Dualism Revisited
Minds and Machines
Life after Death
Souls
Questions and Exercises
7. Appearance and Reality
Fiction
"The Fantasy Machine"
"Why Don't You Just Wake Up?"
Questions
Discussion
Common Sense Beliefs
The World as Dream
Doubting the External World
Proving My Own Mind
Can We Prove an External World?
Questions and Exercises
Glossary
Further Materials
Index