Product Description

This book provides an in-depth, problem-oriented introduction to philosophical analysis using an extremely clear, readable approach. The Fourth Edition does not only update coverage throughout the book, but also restores the introductory chapter—Words and the World—the most distinguished, widely acclaimed feature of the first two editions.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #421818 in Books
• Published on: 1996-12-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 282 pages

Review
'Anyone who wishes to familiarize himself with the methods and approaches to philosophy current in universities in England and the United States will find this book a useful guide.' - Philosophical Studies

'This is quite simply the best introductory philosophy book there is.' - Stephen Priest, University of Edinburgh

Anyone who wishes to familiarize himself with the methods and approaches to philosophy current in universities in England and the United States will find this book a useful guide. - Philosophical Studies

This is quite simply the best introductory philosophy book there is. - Stephen Priest, University of Edinburgh

From the Publisher
This text provides an in-depth, problem-oriented introduction to philosophical analysis using an extremely clear, readable approach. The Fourth Edition only updates coverage throughout the book, but also restores the introductory chapter--Words and the World--the most distinguished, widely acclaimed feature of the first two editions.

From the Back Cover
This book provides an in-depth, problem-oriented introduction to philosophical analysis using an extremely clear, readable approach. The Fourth Edition does not only update coverage throughout the book, but also restores the introductory chapter—Words and the World—the most distinguished, widely acclaimed feature of the first two editions.

Customer Reviews

A good writer
I have read the second and third editions of this book, but not the latest (the fourth), nor have I examined the fourth edition, but I am sure that it respects the fine didactic quality of the prior editions. The author though has decreased the page count since the second edition, which was over 500 pages, to the third, which was 416 pages, to this one, which reads as 282 pages. I thought the second edition was better than the third, because it was more in-depth in its coverage. The author possibly feels that many of the philosophical problems which he addressed with more detail in prior editions do not need the coverage they do in this one.

The author though is a fine writer, and this book is written for the person first taking up philosophy. His informal style effectively relates the issues at hand without getting the beginning reader into too much heavy formalism. All of the issues discussed by the author are of enormous importance for living, especially in the twenty-first century which I see as a testing ground for many of these. Philosophy is making its way to the meeting rooms of industry, due to the need for ethical considerations in medicine and genetic engineering, the role of virtual and simulation environments currently used in industry, and the continuing rapid advances in artificial intelligence, to name just a few. Many, many more new philosophical problems will arise as technology races ahead, and the new minds of the twenty-first century, both natural and artificial, will have their own unique viewpoints on the solutions to these problems.

Thorough overview of major issues, an essential introduction
Hosper's "An Introduction to Philosophical Analysis" was the text for a philosophy course I took a long time ago -- 1965. I have had kept it in my library ever since. It serves me as a reference and periodic refresher on the terminology and principle issues of Western philosophy. If you keep forgetting the true meaning of ontology, deism, epiphenomenalism, the emotive theory of ethics, etc., this is the book for you. If you get into arguments in any of these areas, buy this book! Hospers uses practical examples from everyday life and mixes in some clever wit here and there.

An excellent introduction
As a beginner and amateur in this area, I found this book to be extremely intersting and informative. In an informal and light style, uncharacteristic of the philosphy books, the author gives you a very comprehensive introduction of the most fundamental issues in philosophy. Apart from its narrative style, what I liked about this book was its organization. Putting the chapter on 'language and reality' right in the beginning of the book is a great help both for beginning students and amateurs. It clears up a lot of issues that would otherwise have caused a lot of confusion later on. Unlike many other philosophy books that would discuss religion in their first chapter, mostly to get it out of the way, this author postpones this discussion to the end to ensure that you have the requisite knowledge of the fundamentals of language, logic, epiestimology before you enter into this debate. Another strong point is its unbiased discussion of most issues. For the most part, the book simply lays out different theories and points of views about any issue, with their strengths and weaknesses and lets you draw your own conclusions.