Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction

How ought we to live? What really exists? How do we know? This Very Short Introduction discusses some of the key questions philosophy engages with. Edward Craig explores important themes in ethics, and the nature of knowledge and the self, through readings from Plato, Hume, Descartes, Hegel, Darwin, and Buddhist writers. Throughout, he emphasizes why we do phiilosophy, explains how different areas of philosophy are related, and explores the contexts in which philosophy was and is done.

This new edition includes a new chapter on free will, discussing determinism and indeterminism in the context of Descartes and Hegel’s work. Craig also covers the Problem of Evil, and Kant’s argument on the source of moral obligation.

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Edward Craig, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Cambridge University, and Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge

Edward Craig is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Cambridge University, and Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge. He is the author of several books, including Knowledge and the State of Nature (OUP, 1991), and The Mind of God and the Works of Man, (OUP, 1996). He was General Editor of the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy until 2011.