Topics in Philosophy – serie

In this volume, thirteen philosophers contribute new essays analyzing the criteria for personal identity and their import on ethics and the theory of action: it presents contemporary treatments of the issues discussed in "Personal Identity", edited by John Perry (University of California Press, 1975).

The challenge of explaining the emotions has engaged the attention of the best minds in philosophy and science throughout history. Part of the fascination has been that the emotions resist classification. As adequate account therefore requires receptivity to knowledge from a variety of sources. The philosopher must inform himself of the relevant empirical investigation to arrive at a definition, and the scientist cannot afford to be naive about the assumptions built into his conceptual apparatus. The contributors to this volume have approached the problem of characterizing and classifying emotions from the perspectives of neurophysiology, psychology, and social psychology as well as that of philosophical psychology. They discuss the difficulties that arise in classifying the emotions, assessing their appropriateness and rationality, and determining their function in motivating moral action.

Students of philosophy, psychology, sociology, and literature will welcome this collection of original essays on self-deception and related phenomena such as wishful thinking, bad faith, and false consciousness. The book has six sections, each exploring self-deception and related phenomena from a different perspective.

This volume brings together the vital contributions of distinguished past and contemporary philosophers to the important topic of personal identity. The essays range from John Locke's classic seventeenth-century attempt to analyze personal identity in terms of memory, to twentieth-century defenses and criticisms of the Lockean view by Anthony Quinton, H.P. Grice, Sydney Shoemaker, David Hume, Joseph Butler, Thomas Reid, and Bernard Williams. New to the second edition are Shoemaker's seminal essay "Persons and Their Pasts", selections from the important and previously unpublished Clark-Collins correspondence, and a new paper by Perry discussing Williams.

Perceiving, Sensing, and Knowing: A Book of Readings from Twentieth-Century Sources in the Philosophy of Perception offers an insightful collection of writings that examine perception's intricate relationship with knowledge. This anthology delves into the predominant views of English-speaking philosophers on the challenges of understanding how humans perceive and interpret the external world. By addressing traditional questions about the reliability and mechanisms of the senses, it reveals how the philosophy of perception has evolved, especially under the influence of post-Renaissance thought and the epistemological foundations laid by figures like Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, and Hume.The book is meticulously curated to present the interplay between classical theories and modern critiques, touching on pivotal debates such as the sense-datum theory, phenomenalism, and causal theories of perception. Divided into four parts, it explores the nature of perceiving, the objects of perception, and the justification of empirical beliefs. Each section juxtaposes traditional perspectives with contemporary critiques, fostering a rich dialogue on the epistemological and ontological dimensions of sensory experience. This anthology is an essential resource for anyone interested in the philosophical underpinnings of how we perceive and know the world, offering both historical depth and critical engagement with ongoing debates in modern philosophy.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1965.