人はどう生きるべきか、実存しているものとは何か、人はいかに物事を認識しているのか。倫理、認識、自己といった普遍的な問いに、どれほど多くの哲学分野がどれほど大きな役割を果たしているのかを明らかにし、哲学の意義を問う一冊です。プラトン、ヒューム、デカルトなど重要な哲学者の思想から仏教に及ぶまで幅広く紹介します。新版にはデカルトの自由意志論やヘーゲルの自由概念を取り上げる新章を追加。カントと悪の問題、道徳的責任論にも言及しています。
   

• Introduces important themes in philosophy such as ethics, knowledge, and the self
• Includes a new chapter on free will, discussing determinism and indeterminism in the context of the work of Descartes and Hegel
• Includes Eastern philosophy and thinkers from the Continental tradition as well as from Anglo-American philosophy
• Discusses how philosophy has been used in the interests of particular groups, such as the priesthood, women, animals, and political activists

   
How ought we to live? What really exists? How do we know? This Very Short Introduction discusses some of the key questions philosophy engages with. Edward Craig explores important themes in ethics, and the nature of knowledge and the self, through readings from Plato, Hume, Descartes, Hegel, Darwin, and Buddhist writers. Throughout, he emphasizes why we do philosophy, explains how different areas of philosophy are related, and explores the contexts in which philosophy was and is done.
    
This new edition includes a new chapter on free will, discussing determinism and indeterminism in the context of Descartes and Hegel's work. Craig also covers the Problem of Evil, and Kant's argument on the source of moral obligation.