Readings in Philosophy

This book is such a constant companion of mine that I have two copies; the first one is nearly worn out, heavily annotated. This reader of philosophy by John Randall, Justus Buchler and Evelyn Shirk is not a systematic treatment of philosophy, nor is it a consistent and in depth analysis of particular fields or schools of philosophy. Rather, it is a broadly drawn and wide ranging collection of readings covering almost the entire field of philosophy. This book is meant to be a companion to the volume 'Philosophy: an Introduction', published as part of the same series. That text covers the field of philosophy in a systematic and organised approach -- this volume draws together primary texts with a minimum of commentary. The authors state there is 'no royal road' to philosophy -- that it is difficult reading, and primary texts in the field are often daunting. Where does one begin with the body of work by Plato or Aristotle, Aquinas or Hobbes? The selections in this book average 15 pages or so; the shorter among them (such as St. Anselm's argument for the existence of God) can be but a few pages, while the longer pieces include Berkeley's discourse on the difference between things and ideas, Mill's discussion of free will, and Kierkegaard's piece on despair. Even the untutored in philosophy will recognise many names -- Plato and Aristotle are included several times; other names such as Anselm, Aquinas, Descartes, Hume, Bacon, and Hobbes are joined by less well-known but important philosophers such as G.E. Moore, Bertrand Russell, Schopenhauer, and Ryle. There are 34 selections in all, grouped under two broad categories: Philosophic Criticism, Definition and Analysis; and the Development of Philosophic Perspective. A primary purpose of this book, apart from providing source readings for the companion volume, is to stimulate the reader to further investigations. The passages are relatively short so that they are more easily digestable; each of the sections contains reference material so that students may engage the full texts at their leisure. One gets a good sense of the diversity of ideas and thinkers from collections such as these; this one is particularly good at drawing together reading that emphasise both the ideas in philosophy as well as the method of philosophical thought.