Medical Ethics: Background Information

This text offers an accessible historical survey of philosophical ideas and a wealth of primary source readings at an excellent value. The text is a comprehensive, historically organized introduction to philosophy which communicates the richness of the discipline and provides the student with a working knowledge of the development of Western philosophy. With a lively and approachable style it covers the principal contributions of Western civilization's most influential philosophers.

This introductory text in ethics aims to set forth the basic issues and positions of ethical inquiry with the goal of encouraging discussion, not providing answers. After considering such fundamental questions as What is ethics? Why study ethics? and How is ethics possible?, Machan familiarizes students with the basics of moral philosophy. The author then applies ethics to such pertinent contemporary issues as abortion, advertising, assisted suicide, capital punishment, children's rights and obligations, gambling, the treatment of animals, racial discrimination, and sexual harassment.

"Scientific Understanding" provides original and in-depth accounts of the concept of understanding and its essential role in the scientific process. To this end, the chapters in this volume explore and develop three key topics: understanding and explanation, understanding and models, and understanding in scientific practice. The book investigates how understanding is obtained within diverse scientific disciplines and examine how the acquisition of understanding depends on specific contexts, the objects of study, and the stated aims of research.

A comprehensive introduction to the theory of knowledge.

Metaphysics: The Fundamentals presents readers with a systematic, comprehensive introductory overview of modern analytic metaphysics. Addresses topics in ontology, modality, causality, and universals; as well as issues surrounding material composition, persistence, space, and time.