Knowledge, Reality, and Value: A Mostly Common Sense Guide to Philosophy (Unabridged‪)‬

The world's best introduction to philosophy, Knowledge, Reality, and Value explains basic philosophical problems in epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics, such as: How can we know about the world outside our minds? Is there a God? Do we have free will? Are there objective values? What distinguishes right actions from wrong actions? The text clearly explains the most important arguments about these things, and it does so a lot less boringly than most books written by professors.

“My work is all a series of footnotes to Mike Huemer.” –Plato

“This book is way better than my lecture notes.” –Aristotle

“When I have a little money, I buy [Mike Huemer’s] books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes.” –Erasmus Contents  

Preface 

Part I: Preliminaries  

1. What Is Philosophy?  

2. Logic  

3. Critical Thinking, 1: Intellectual Virtue  

4. Critical Thinking, 2: Fallacies  

5. Absolute Truth Part II: Epistemology  

6. Skepticism About the External World  

7. Global Skepticism vs. Foundationalism  

8. Defining “Knowledge” Part III: Metaphysics  

9. Arguments for Theism  

10. Arguments for Atheism  

11. Free Will  

12. Personal Identity Part IV: Ethics  

13. Metaethics  

14. Ethical Theory, 1: Utilitarianism  

15. Ethical Theory, 2: Deontology  

16. Applied Ethics, 1: The Duty of Charity  

17. Applied Ethics, 2: Animal Ethics  

18. Concluding Thoughts  

Appendix: A Guide to Writing  

Glossary

Michael Huemer is a professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado, where he has taught since the dawn of time. He is the author of a nearly infinite number of articles in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and political philosophy, in addition to seven other amazing and brilliant books that you should immediately buy.