Bloomsbury Everyday Examples: An Introduction to Philosophy

Free will: mental energy that poofs into existence from scratch?"" In pairing key ideas from the history of philosophy with examples from everyday life and culture, David Cunning produces a clear, incisive and engaging introduction to philosophy. Everyday Examples explores historical philosophy and the contemporary theory scene and includes ideas from both the analytic and continental traditions. This broad sweep of topics provides a synoptic overview of philosophy as a discipline and philosophizing as an activity. With examples drawn from everything from The Matrix and Sesame Street to sleepwalking, driving, dancing, playing a sport and observing animals, students are pointed to ways in which they can be a philosopher outside the classroom in the everyday world. As well as providing entertaining and relatable examples from everyday life, this book will be especially useful in the classroom, it is accessible and discussion-oriented, so that students can get first-hand practice at actually 'doing' philosophy. This accessibility does not come at the expense of rigour but, rather, provides a 'way in' to thinking about the major issues, figures and moments in the history of philosophy. The chapters are divided into brief sustainable nuggets so that students can get a definite handle on each issue and also be the expert for the day on a given section.There are suggested study questions at the end of each chapter that bring out the force of each side of the many different issues. An indispensable tool for those approaching philosophy for the first time. Review "Everyday Examples is an introductory text that lives up to its name. David Cunning's accessible, flexible, and versatile work enables readers to do philosophy, not just learn about it." --Brett Gaul, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Southwest Minnesota State University, USA"Cunning's introductory textbook invites students to be active engaged learners achieved by a rich self-discovery of the meaningful enterprise of philosophical inquiry. Everyday Examples is an invaluable pedagogical tool designed to enrich student comprehension and elicit critical discourse both inside and outside of the classroom." --Genevieve Migely, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Cornell College, USA About the Author David Cunning is Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Philosophy Department at the University of Iowa, USA.