25 Philosophy
Analyzing Meaning: An Introduction to Semantics and Pragmatics
Paul R. Kroeger
2018
Licence: CC BY
This open textbook provides an introduction to the study of meaning in human language, from a linguistic perspective including foundational concepts, word meanings, implicature (including indirect speech acts), compositional semantics, modals, conditionals, and causation and tense & aspect.
Formats: PDF
Suggested for: PHIL 254
Animal & Ethics 101: Thinking Critically About Animal Rights
Nathan Nobis (Morehouse College)
2018
Licence: CC BY-SA
This book provides an overview of the current debates about the nature and extent of our moral obligations to animals. Which, if any, uses of animals are morally wrong, which are morally permissible (i.e., not wrong) and why? What, if any, moral obligations do we, individually and as a society (and a global community), have towards animals and why? How should animals be treated? Why?
Formats: Online, PDF, and Word
Suggested for: PHIL 255
Applied Ethics Primer
Letitia Meynell and Clarisse Paron (Dalhousie University)
2021
Licence: CC BY-NC
Every applied ethics course requires some brief introduction, survey, or primer on ethical theory and moral decision-making. At the same time, spending too much time on argumentation and normative ethical theory can take precious course time away from the applied issues that are the focus of the course. The Applied Ethics Primer offers a concise introduction to both basic argumentation and normative ethical theory. Somewhat more inclusive than many similar resources, this primer offers students a taste of the truly global history of ethics, while still being squarely focused on providing practical tools for ethical decision-making and is appropriate for any introductory applied ethics course.
Formats: Online, EPUB, and PDF
Suggested for: PHIL 350
A Brief Introduction to Philosophy
Yoni Porat (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology)
2021
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
An introduction to philosophy with selections on metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and logic. The emphasis is on exposing students to important philosophers and issues in philosophy. Chapters include multiple-choice questions to test reading comprehension.
Formats: Online, EPUB, and PDF
Suggested for: PHIL 231
A Concise Introduction to Logic
Craig DeLancey (SUNY Oswego)
2017
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
Concise Introduction to Logic is an introduction to formal logic suitable for undergraduates taking a general education course in logic or critical thinking and is accessible and useful to any interested in gaining a basic understanding of logic. This text takes the unique approach of teaching logic through intellectual history; the author uses examples from important and celebrated arguments in philosophy to illustrate logical principles. The text also includes a basic introduction to findings of advanced logic. As indicators of where the student could go next with logic, the book closes with an overview of advanced topics, such as the axiomatic method, set theory, Peano arithmetic, and modal logic.
Formats: Online, PDF and EPUB
Suggested for: PHIL 254
Critical Thinking
Andrew Gurevich (Mt. Hood Community College)
2019
Licence: CC BY
Using a combination of the newest findings in hemispheric science, neuropsychology, and brain development, along with the long-established rhetorical algorithms for analyzing the structure of arguments, this course explores the boundaries of critical and creative thinking in pursuit of developing a clearer and more robust model for the construction and deconstruction of various forms of argument. A variety of “texts” are used to help students develop rhetorical analysis skills, critical thinking tools and a diverse, integrative apparatus for establishing the veracity of truth claims in both academic and cultural contexts.
Formats: Online, PDF, EPUB
Suggested for: PHIL 252
Elementary Formal Logic
Jenna Woodrow (Thompson Rivers University) and Craig DeLancey (SUNY Oswego)
2017
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
Elementary Formal Logic was adapted by Jenna Woodrow from Craig DeLancey’s textbook, A Concise Introduction to Logic.
Format: Online
Suggested for: PHIL 254
Ethics for A-Level
Mark Dimmock (Torquay Boys’ Grammar School) and Andrew Fisher (University of Nottingham)
2017
Licence: CC BY
What does pleasure have to do with morality? What role, if any, should intuition have in the formation of moral theory? If something is ‘simulated’, can it be immoral?
This accessible and wide-ranging textbook explores these questions and many more. Key ideas in the fields of normative ethics, metaethics and applied ethics are explained rigorously and systematically, with a vivid writing style that enlivens the topics with energy and wit. Individual theories are discussed in detail in the first part of the book, before these positions are applied to a wide range of contemporary situations including business ethics, sexual ethics, and the acceptability of eating animals. A wealth of real-life examples, set out with depth and care, illuminate the complexities of different ethical approaches while conveying their modern-day relevance.
Formats: Online and PDF
Suggested for: PHIL 350
forall x: Calgary, An Introduction to Formal Logic
Tim Button (University College London) and P.D. Magnus (University at Albany)
2023
Licence: CC BY
forall x: Calgary is a full-featured textbook on formal logic. It covers key notions of logic such as consequence and validity of arguments, the syntax of truth-functional propositional logic TFL and truth-table semantics. It also deals with some advanced topics such as modal logic, soundness, and functional completeness. Exercises with solutions are available. It is provided in PDF (for screen reading, printing, and a special version for dyslexics) and in LaTeX source code.
Formats: PDF, HTML
Suggested for: PHIL 254
A Friendly Introduction to Mathematical Logic
Christopher C. Leary (State University of New York), Lars Kristiansen, (The University of Oslo)
2015
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
At the intersection of mathematics, computer science, and philosophy, mathematical logic examines the power and limitations of formal mathematical thinking. In this expansion of Leary’s user-friendly 1st edition, readers with no previous study in the field are introduced to the basics of model theory, proof theory, and computability theory. The text is designed to be used either in an upper division undergraduate classroom, or for self study.
Formats: PDF
Suggested for: PHIL 254
Fundamental Methods of Logic
Matthew Knachel (University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee)
2017
Licence: CC BY
Fundamental Methods of Logic is suitable for a one-semester introduction to logic/critical reasoning course. It covers a variety of topics at an introductory level. Chapter One introduces basic notions, such as arguments and explanations, validity and soundness, deductive and inductive reasoning; it also covers basic analytical techniques, such as distinguishing premises from conclusions and diagramming arguments. Chapter Two discusses informal logical fallacies. Chapters Three and Four concern deductive logic, introducing the basics of Aristotelian and Sentential Logic, respectively. Chapter Five deals with analogical and causal reasoning, including a discussion of Mill’s Methods. Chapter Six covers basic probability calculations, Bayesian inference, fundamental statistical concepts and techniques, and common statistical fallacies.
Formats: PDF
Suggested for: PHIL 254
A Guide to Good Reasoning: Cultivating Intellectual Virtues – Second Edition
David C. Wilson (Webster University)
1999
Licence: CC BY-NC
A Guide to Good Reasoning has been described by reviewers as “far superior to any other critical reasoning text.” It shows with both wit and philosophical care how students can become good at everyday reasoning. It starts with attitude—with alertness to judgmental heuristics and with the cultivation of intellectual virtues. From there it develops a system for skillfully clarifying and evaluating arguments, according to four standards—whether the premises fit the world, whether the conclusion fits the premises, whether the argument fits the conversation, and whether it is possible to tell.
Formats: Online, EPUB, and PDF
Suggested for: PHIL 152
Inferring and Explaining
Jeffery L. Johnson (Portland State University)
2019
Licence: CC BY
Inferring and Explaining is a book in practical epistemology. It examines the notion of evidence and assumes that good evidence is the essence of rational thinking. Evidence is the cornerstone of the natural, social, and behavioral sciences. But it is equally central to almost all academic pursuits and, perhaps most importantly, to the basic need to live an intelligent and reflective life.
Formats: Online, PDF, EPUB, and MOBI
Suggested for: PHIL 152
The Intelligent Troglodyte’s Guide to Plato’s Republic
Douglas Drabkin (Fort Hays State University)
2020
Licence: CC BY
The Republic of Plato is one of the classic gateway texts into the study and practice of philosophy, and it is just the sort of book that has been able to arrest and redirect lives. How it has been able to do this, and whether or not it will be able to do this in your own case, is something you can only discover for yourself. The present guidebook aims to help a person get fairly deep, fairly quickly, into the project. It divides the dialogue into 96 sections and provides commentary on each section as well as questions for reflection and exploration. It is organized with a table of contents and is stitched together with a system of navigating bookmarks. Links to external sites such as the Perseus Classical Library are used throughout. This book is suitable for college courses or independent study.
Format: PDF
Suggested for: PHIL 240
Introduction to Digital Humanism
Hannes Werthner et al.
2024
Licence: CC BY
This open access textbook introduces and defines digital humanism from a diverse range of disciplines. Following the 2019 Vienna Manifesto, the book calls for a digital humanism that describes, analyzes, and, most importantly, influences the complex interplay of technology and humankind, for a better society and life, fully respecting universal human rights.
Format: PDF
Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking
Matthew J. Van Cleave (Lansing Community College)
2016
Licence: CC BY
This is an introductory textbook in logic and critical thinking, aimed at providing the reader with a set of tools and skills that will enable them to identify and evaluate arguments.
Format: PDF
Suggested for: PHIL 252
Introduction to Philosophy by OpenStax
Nathan Smith (Houston Community College)
2022
Licence: CC BY
Designed to meet the scope and sequence of your course, Introduction to Philosophy surveys logic, metaphysics, epistemology, theories of value, and history of philosophy thematically. To provide a strong foundation in global philosophical discourse, diverse primary sources and examples are central to the design, and the text emphasizes engaged reading, critical thinking, research, and analytical skill-building through guided activities.
Formats: Online, PDF
Suggested for: PHIL 152
An Introduction to Philosophy
W. Russ Payne (Bellevue College)
2023
Licence: CC BY-NC
This peer-reviewed open textbook presents philosophy to newcomers as a living discipline with historical roots. Early chapters are historically organized, to help trace a developmental progression of thought that introduce basic philosophical methods and frames issues that remain relevant today.
Formats: PDF and Word
Suggested for: PHIL 152
Introduction to Philosophy: Aesthetic Theory and Practice
Valery Vino (Melbourne School of Continental Philosophy)
2022
Licence CC BY
Aesthetic Theory and Practice offers fresh perspectives on canonical and emerging topics in aesthetics, and also brings attention to a number of culturally sensitive topics that are customarily silenced in introductions to philosophical aesthetics. The papers are heterogeneous in terms of length and degrees of difficulty, inviting the reader into the study of contemporary aesthetics, which spans a lifetime.
Formats: Online, EPUB, PDF, and more
Suggested for: PHIL 152
Introduction to Philosophy: Epistemology
Brian C. Barnett (State of New York University)
2021
Licence: CC BY
Introduction to Philosophy: Epistemology engages first-time philosophy readers on a guided tour through the core concepts, questions, methods, arguments, and theories of epistemology—the branch of philosophy devoted to the study of knowledge. The book progresses systematically while placing key ideas and thinkers in historical and contemporary context. Central topics include the analysis of knowledge, the nature of epistemic justification, rationalism vs. empiricism, skepticism, the value of knowledge, the ethics of belief, Bayesian epistemology, social epistemology, and feminist epistemologies.
Formats: Online, PDF, EPUB, and more
Suggested for: PHIL 152
Introduction to Philosophy: Ethics
George Matthews (Plymouth State University)
2019
Licence: CC BY
This text examines some of the main threads of discussion on these topics that have developed over the last couple of millennia, mostly within the Western cultural tradition. It considers basic questions about moral and ethical judgment: Is there such a thing as something that is really right or really wrong independent of time, place and perspective? What is the relationship between religion and ethics? How can we reconcile self-interest and ethics? Is it ever acceptable to harm one person in order to help others? What do recent discussions in evolutionary biology or have to say about human moral systems? What is the relation between gender and ethics? The authors invite you to participate in their exploration of these and many other questions in philosophical ethics.
Formats: Online, EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and more
Suggested for: PHIL 255
Introduction to Philosophy: Logic
Ben Martin (University of Bergen) (Rebus Community)
2020
Licence: CC BY
Introduction to Philosophy: Logic provides students with the concepts and skills necessary to identify and evaluate arguments effectively. The chapters, all written by experts in the field, provide an overview of what arguments are, the different types of arguments one can expect to encounter in both philosophy and everyday life, and how to recognise common argumentative mistakes.
Formats: Online, EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and more
Suggested for: PHIL 254
Introduction to Philosophy: Philosophy of Mind
Heather Salazar (Western New England University) (Rebus Community)
2019
Licence: CC BY
Introduction to Philosophy: Philosophy of Mind surveys the central themes in philosophy of mind and places them in a historical and contemporary context intended to engage first-time readers in the field. It focuses on debates about the status and character of the mind and its seemingly subjective nature in an apparently more objective world.
Formats: Online, EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and more
Introduction to Philosophy: Philosophy of Religion
Beau Branson (Brescia University) (Rebus Community)
2020
Licence: CC BY
Introduction to Philosophy: Philosophy of Religion introduces some of the major traditional arguments for and against the existence of God, as well as some less well-known, but thought-provoking arguments for the existence of God, and one of the most important new challenges to religious belief from the Cognitive Science of Religion. An introductory chapter traces the connection between philosophy and religion throughout Western history, and a final chapter addresses the place of non-Western and non-monotheistic religions within contemporary philosophy of religion.
Formats: Online, EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and more
Knowledge for Humans
Charlie Huenemann (Utah State University)
2022
Licence: CC BY-SA
Knowledge for Humans is a textbook aimed at introducing students to fundamental questions about knowledge and skepticism. Many topics often covered in epistemology textbooks are also covered here, such as radical Cartesian skepticism, phenomenalism, externalism, and naturalism. But the text also covers useful topics that are not usually included, such as the social conditions for knowledge, common fallacies, Bayesianism, the internet, conspiracy theories, and how we should go about arguing with one another.
Formats: Online, PDF, EPUB
Suggested for: PHIL 152
Logical Reasoning
Bradley H. Dowden (California State University)
2020
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
The goal of this book is to improve your logical reasoning skills. These skills are also called “critical thinking skills.” They are a complex weave of abilities that help you get someone’s point, generate reasons for your own point, evaluate the reasons given by others, decide what or what not to do, decide what information to accept or reject, explain a complicated idea, apply conscious quality control as you think, and resist propaganda. Your most important critical thinking skill is your skill at making judgments─not snap judgments that occur in the blink of an eye, but those that require careful reasoning.
Formats: PDF and Word
Suggested for: PHIL 254
Metaethics from a First Person Standpoint: An Introduction to Moral Philosophy
Catherine Wilson (University of York)
2016
Licence: CC BY
Metaethics from a First Person Standpoint addresses in a novel format the major topics and themes of contemporary metaethics, the study of the analysis of moral thought and judgement. Metathetics is less concerned with what practices are right or wrong than with what we mean by ‘right’ and ‘wrong.’ Looking at a wide spectrum of topics including moral language, realism and anti-realism, reasons and motives, relativism, and moral progress, this book engages students and general readers in order to enhance their understanding of morality and moral discourse as cultural practices.
Formats: Online and PDF
Suggested for: PHIL 350
Modern Philosophy
Walter Ott (University of Virginia)
2013
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
This is a textbook in modern philosophy. It combines readings from primary sources with two pedagogical tools. Paragraphs in italics introduce figures and texts. Numbered study questions (also in italics) ask students to reconstruct an argument or position from the text, or draw connections among the readings. And I have added an introductory chapter (Chapter 0 – Minilogic and Glossary), designed to present the basic tools of philosophy and sketch some principles and positions. The immediate goal is to encourage students to grapple with the ideas rather than passing their eyes over the texts. This makes for a better classroom experience and permits higher-level discussions. Another goal is to encourage collaboration among instructors, as they revise and post their own versions of the book.
Formats: Online, EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and more
Open Logic Text
Richard Zach (University of Calgary), Andrew Arana (University of Paris), Jeremy Avigad (Carnegie Mellon University), Walter Dean (University of Warwick), Gillian Russell (University of North Carolina), Nicole Wyatt (University of Calgary), and Audrey Yap (University of Victoria)
2016
Licence: CC BY
The Open Logic Text is an open-source, collaborative textbook of formal meta-logic and formal methods, starting at an intermediate level (i.e., after an introductory formal logic course). Though aimed at a non-mathematical audience (in particular, students of philosophy and computer science), it is rigorous.
Formats: PDF and LaTeX
Suggested for: PHIL 254
The Originals: Classic Readings in Western Philosophy
Jeff McLaughlin (Thompson Rivers University)
2017
Licence: CC BY
This peer-reviewed, open textbook provides readers with an appreciation and understanding of philosophy framed by the very words and ideas of those who have shaped our thinking over the centuries.
Formats: Online, and PDF
Suggested for: PHIL 240
Philosophical Ethics: A Guidebook for Beginners
George W. Matthews (Plymouth State University)
2020
Licence: CC BY-SA
This book is an introduction to philosophical ethics intended for use in introductory college or high school level courses.
Formats: Online and PDF
Suggested for: PHIL 255
Plato’s Republic: An Introduction
Sean McAleer (University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire)
2020
Licence: CC BY
Plato’s ‘Republic’: An Introduction offers a rigorous and thought-provoking analysis of the text, helping readers navigate one of the world’s most influential works of philosophy and political theory. With its approachable tone and clear presentation, it constitutes a welcome contribution to the field, and will be an indispensable resource for philosophy students and teachers, as well as general readers new to, or returning to, the text.
Formats: Online and PDF
Suggested for: PHIL 240
Responsible Innovation: Ethics, Safety and Technology
Joost Groot Kormelink (TU Delft)
2019
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
This textbook is based on the MOOC Responsible Innovation offered by the TU Delft. It provides a framework to reflect on the ethics and risks of new technologies. How can we make sure that innovations do justice to social and ethical values? How can we minimize (unknown) risks? The book explains: 1) The concept and importance of responsible innovation for society; 2) Key ethical concepts and considerations to analyse the risks of new technologies; 3) Different types of innovation (e.g. radical, niche, incremental, frugal); 4) Roadmap for Responsible Innovation by Industry; and 5) The concept of Value Sensitive Design (VSD).
Format: PDF
Suggested for: PHIL 371
Sets, Logic, Computation: An Open Introduction to Metalogic
Richard Zach
2021
Licence: CC BY
Sets, Logic, Computation is an introductory textbook on metalogic. It covers naive set theory, first-order logic, sequent calculus and natural deduction, the completeness, compactness, and Löwenheim-Skolem theorems, Turing machines, and the undecidability of the halting problem and of first-order logic. The audience is undergraduate students with some background in formal logic, e.g., what is covered by forall x (Description from resource).
Formats: Online, PDF
Some Problems of Philosophy
Diane Gall (Medicine Hat College)
2021
Licence: CC BY
Some Problems of Philosophy is designed to be used with a first year course in philosophy that covers a little informal logic, God, knowledge, and mind. It includes some first rate original contributions from contemporary thinkers and the obvious historical works.
Formats: Online, EPUB, PDF, and more
Suggested for: PHIL 152
The Tragedy of the Self
Andrea Sangiacomo (University of Groningen)
2023
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
Why do human beings interpret their overall experience in terms of selfhood? How was the notion and sense of self shaped at different times and in different cultures? What sort of problems or paradoxes did these constructions face? These lectures address these and related questions by sketching a roadmap of possible theoretical avenues for conceiving of the self, bringing to the foreground its soteriological implications, while also testing this theoretical outlook against insights offered by various disciplines. Exploring the cross-cultural spectrum of possible ways of conceiving of the self invites the more existential question of whether any of these possibilities might offer resources for dealing with the tragedies of today’s world, or maybe even saving it from some of them.
Formats: Online, PDF
Suggested for: PHIL 367
Wellbeing, Freedom and Social Justice: The Capability Approach Re-Examined
Ingrid Robeyns (Ethics Institute of Utrecht University)
2017
Licence: CC BY
How do we evaluate ambiguous concepts such as wellbeing, freedom, and social justice? How do we develop policies that offer everyone the best chance to achieve what they want from life? The capability approach, a theoretical framework pioneered by the philosopher and economist Amartya Sen in the 1980s, has become an increasingly influential way to think about these issues.
Wellbeing, Freedom and Social Justice: The Capability Approach Re-Examined is both an introduction to the capability approach and a thorough evaluation of the challenges and disputes that have engrossed the scholars who have developed it. Ingrid Robeyns offers her own illuminating and rigorously interdisciplinary interpretation, arguing that by appreciating the distinction between the general capability approach and more specific capability theories or applications we can create a powerful and flexible tool for use in a variety of academic disciplines and fields of policymaking.
This book provides an original and comprehensive account that will appeal to scholars of the capability approach, new readers looking for an interdisciplinary introduction, and those interested in theories of justice, human rights, basic needs, and the human development approach.
Formats: Online and PDF
Words of Wisdom: Intro to Philosophy
Jody Ondich (Lake Superior College)
2018
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
Words of Wisdom can come from anyone. In this text we discuss topics ranging from “Are Humans good by nature?” to “Is there a God?” to “Do I have the right to my own opinion?” Philosophy is the study of wisdom, and can emerge in our conversations in social media, in school, around the family dinner table, and even in the car. The text uses materials that are 2,500 years old, and materials that were in the news this year. Wise people come in all shapes and types, and from every culture on earth. We have poetry and folktales, sacred writings and letters. Dialogues and interviews, news columns, Ted Talks, YouTube recordings and even comedy are all a part of the content in this text.
Formats: Online, EPUB, PDF, and MOBI