Philosophy for a New Generation

This was the first survey book on philosophy I ever read, some 25 year ago now, and it still remains a fresh and lively text each time I pick it up. Compiled by A.K. Bierman and James A. Gould, this third edition of the text, 'Philosophy for a New Generation', was designed to be able to be the sole text for a basic undergraduate introduction to philosophy class. It covers all of the major areas of philosophy (with the exception of logic), and does so in an interesting and thoughtful manner.Rather than putting forth unified essays and articles on each topic, the editors Bierman and Gould have compiled a selection of essays an excerpts from other philosophers old and current to highlight the particular issues at hand. For example, in the chapter on Morality: Old and New, the editors select a passage from Kant on the Categorial Imperative, another piece by Bentham on Utility, Pleasure and the Good, and more modern writers such as Carl Wellman and Jonathan Bennett, who look at issues such as cultural relativity, and the moral sense contained in literature such as Huckleberry Finn.The editors also use the general organisation of the text to highlight both traditional philosophical principles and modern day concerns, with chapters such as 'The Moral Use of Technology' and 'The Arts and Mass Culture'. Here current-day topics of concern such as ecology and privacy are dealt with in interesting fashion. The topics go on to include Epistemology (Human Knowledge), Crime and Punishment, Freedom and Liberation, Metaphysics and Philosophy of Religion. Articles include pieces from traditional philosophical voices such as John Stuart Mill and David Hume, as well as modern voices such as Marx and Mao, and recent academics such as Harold Laski, John Hick and Mary Daly, in addition to articles by the editors themselves.My favourite sections are the chapters on Mass Culture and Religion topics (God, Evil, and the Meaning of Life). This has actually changed over time -- when I first began my college career, I was studying politics and history, and my favourite sections them were the pieces on politics, freedom, and more sociologically relevant topics.The part on Mass Culture appeals to me as this is, in many respects, where I live. It discusses the cinema, television, the arts generally and their context as entertainment, and also discusses the non-neutrality of culture -- culture has a definite bias, and often intention. The section on religious and theological topics addresses the age-old question of the existence of God, the problem of evil, and issues in religion and (with the preceding section) metaphysical questions of identity, but it also looks at the meaning of life in three interesting articles, by Camus, Baier, and Joske, and how philosophy can enter into this question. This is not light reading, but it is not impossible reading, either. The philosophy is strong stuff, not watered down, but served in bite-sized pieces to make things go down a bi