Philosophy Made Slightly Less Difficult: A Beginner’s Guide to Life’s Big Questions, 2nd ed.
Overview
Philosophy is for everyone. We think philosophically whenever we ask life's big questions:
- What is real?
- How do we know what we know?
- What is the right thing to do?
- What does it mean to be human?
- How should we view science and its claims?
- Why should we believe that God exists?
Philosophy is thinking critically about questions that matter. But many people find philosophy intimidating, so they never discover how invaluable it can be in engaging ideas, culture, and even their faith.
Garrett DeWeese and J. P. Moreland understand these challenges, and in this book they apply their decades of teaching experience to help to make philosophy a little less difficult. Using straightforward language with plenty of everyday examples, they explain the basics needed to understand philosophical concepts—including logic, metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, philosophical anthropology, and philosophy of science.
This second edition includes new chapters on aesthetics and philosophy of religion, as well as updated content on some current issues in philosophy. Ultimately, DeWeese and Moreland argue, developing a philosophically informed worldview is absolutely critical for Christians and for the future of the church. Students, pastors, campus workers, and ordinary Christians will all benefit from this user-friendly guide.
This is a Logos Reader Edition. Learn more.
- Explains the basics needed to understand philosophical concepts
- Features updated content on current issues in philosophy
- Includes new chapters on aesthetics and philosophy of religion
- Preface to the Second Edition
- Where Do I Start?
- What Is Real? Metaphysics
- How Do I Know? Epistemology
- How Should I Live? Ethics
- What Am I? Philosophical and Theological Anthropology
- How Should Christians Think About Science? Philosophy of Science
- What Is Beauty? What About Art? Aesthetics
- What Should We Worship? Philosophy of Religion
- Where Do I Go from Here? Worldview Struggle and Intellectual Crisis
- For Further Reading
Top Highlights
“We are deeply concerned about the impact of philosophy on theology. The medieval theologians believed that theology was the queen of the sciences (that is, of domains of knowledge) and philosophy was her handmaid. The development of theology in both the Eastern and the Western churches has been deeply affected by philosophy, and theology in turn has affected Western philosophy. But since the Enlightenment, roughly, the flow has been one way, from philosophy to theology, and for the most part it has been corrosive to orthodox theology.” (Page 3)
“In an inductive argument, the truth of the premises together with the absence of fallacies does not guarantee the truth of the conclusion. The conclusion of an inductive argument is probable, given the truth of the premises.” (Page 13)
“A second view of property agreement is called moderate nominalism. Advocates accept the existence of properties but hold that they are particular, individualized qualities called abstract particulars that cannot be possessed by more than one concrete particular.” (Page 26)
“Arguments in philosophy consist in a set of premises that lead to a conclusion” (Page 6)
“If the probabilities are objective (e.g., the probability of drawing a club from a full deck of cards) and if the sample size is sufficiently large (e.g., the number of smokers who contracted lung cancer out of a study group of 100,000 people), then the probability calculus yields a strong inductive argument.” (Page 14)
This book, written by two men who are both high-level philosophers and exemplary Christians, will serve to initiate neophytes into the significance, joys, and challenges of philosophy as well as offer journeymen philosophers (such as myself) a rich banquet of philosophical reflection. I applaud the inclusion of new chapters (on aesthetics and the philosophy of religion) to this edition.
—Douglas Groothuis, professor of philosophy at Denver Seminary, author of Philosophy in Seven Sentences
I think the title of this book is misleading. DeWeese and Moreland, who have trained countless students to think clearly and pursue truth, don’t make philosophy slightly less difficult, they make it incredibly more accessible. It is no easy task to simplify without being simplistic, to explain without short-selling the essentials, but by succeeding they've served us all well.
—John Stonestreet, president of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview and host of BreakPoint
Fuzzy thinking leads to careless living. This is true even for Christians. The world cries out for meaning but many believers remain silent, embarrassed by their shallow faith. Philosophy Made Slightly Less Difficult is a boot camp for the mind led by two ‘drill instructors’ who are at the same time highly respected philosophers and committed Jesus followers. DeWeese and Moreland help the reader think more clearly about thinking and also about reality, knowledge, ethics, and the good life. Don’t read this book just to have your mind tickled. Read it to sharpen your thinking so you can love God with all of your mind.
—Jeff Myers, president of Summit Ministries
- Title: Philosophy Made Slightly Less Difficult: A Beginner’s Guide to Life’s Big Questions
- Authors: Garrett J. DeWeese, J. P. Moreland
- Edition: Second Edition
- Publisher: IVP Academic
- Print Publication Date: 2021
- Logos Release Date: 2021
- Pages: 213
- Era: era:contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
- Subject: Philosophy
- ISBNs: 9780830839155, 9780830839148, 0830839151, 0830839143
- Resource ID: LLS:NTRDCTRYPHLSP2D
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T01:58:24Z
Reviews
2 ratings
Leonard Metsäranta
5/19/2021
Nicusor Curteanu
5/14/2021
