Baggini Julian - The Philosophers Toolkit: a Compendium of Philosophical Concepts and Methods

Julian Baggini is editor and co-founder of The Philosophers Magazine (www.philosophersmag.com). He is the author of several books, including The Ethics Toolkit (with Peter S. Fosl, Wiley-Blackwell, 2007), Welcome to Everytown: A Journey into the English Mind (2008), Complaint (2008) and Should You Judge This Book by Its Cover? (2009). He has written for numerous newspapers and magazines, including the Guardian, the Financial Times, Prospect and the New Statesman, as well as for the think tanks the Institute of Public Policy Research and Demos.

Peter S. Fosl is Professor of Philosophy at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. He is co-author with Julian Baggini of The Ethics Toolkit (Wiley-Blackwell, 2007) and is also co-editor of the Dictionary of Literary Biography (2002) volumes on British philosophy, as well as coeditor with David E. Cooper of Philosophy: The Classic Readings (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009). Fosls scholarly publications address topics in scepticism, ethics, the philosophy of religion and the history of philosophy.

Praise for the first edition

The Philosophers Toolkit provides a welcome and useful addition to the introductory philosophy books available. It takes the beginner through most of the core conceptual tools and distinctions used by philosophers, explaining them simply and with abundant examples. Newcomers to philosophy will find much in here that will help them to understand the subject.

David S. Oderberg,
University of Reading

... the average person who is interested in arguments and logic but who doesnt have much background in philosophy would certainly find this book useful, as would anyone teaching a course on arguments, logic, and reasoning. Even introductory courses on philosophy in general might benefit because the book lays out so many of the conceptual tools which will prove necessary over students careers.

About.com

Its choice of tools for basic argument ... is sound, while further tools for argument ... move through topics and examples concisely and wittily ... Sources are well chosen and indicated step by step. Sections are cross-referenced (making it better than the Teach Yourself 100 philosophical concepts) and supported by a useful index.

Reference Reviews

This second edition first published 2010

2010 Julian Baggini and Peter S. Fosl

Edition history: Blackwell Publishing Ltd (1e, 2003)

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataBaggini, Julian.

The philosophers toolkit : a compendium of philosophical concepts and methods / Julian Baggini and Peter S. Fosl. 2nd ed. p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4051-9018-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Reasoning. 2. Methodology. I. Fosl, Peter S. II. Title.

BC177.B19 2010

101-dc22

2009042655

For Rick ONeil, colleague and friend, in memoriam

Alphabetical Table of Contents

4.1 Apriori/a posteriori

2.1 Abduction

4.2 Absolute/relative

3.1 Alternative explanations

3.2 Ambiguity

2.4 Analogies

4.3 Analytic/synthetic

2.5 Anomalies and exceptions that prove the rule

5.1 Aphorism, fragment, remark

1.1 Arguments, premises and conclusions

1.9 Axioms

7.1 Basic beliefs

3.3 Bivalence and the excluded middle

4.4 Categorical/modal

5.2 Categories and specific differences

3.4 Category mistakes

1.11 Certainty and probability

3.5 Ceteris paribus

3.6 Circularity

6.1 Class critique

3.7 Conceptual incoherence

4.5 Conditional/biconditional

1.6 Consistency

3.8 Counterexamples

3.9 Criteria

6.8 Critiques of naturalism

6.2 Deconstruction and the critique of presence

1.2 Deduction

4.7 Defeasible/indefeasible

1.10 Definitions

4.6 De re/de dicto

2.3 Dialectic

5.3 Elenchus and aporia

6.3 Empiricist critique of metaphysics

4.8 Entailment/implication

3.10 Error theory

4.9 Essence/accident

1.7 Fallacies

3.12 False cause

3.11 False dichotomy

6.4 Feminist critique

6.5 Foucaultian critique of power

3.13 Genetic fallacy

7.2 Gdel and incompleteness

6.6 Heideggerian critique of metaphysics

3.14 Horned dilemmas

5.4 Humes fork

2.2 Hypothetico-deductive method

5.5 Indirect discourse

1.3 Induction

4.10 Internalism/externalism

2.6 Intuition pumps

1.5 Invalidity

3.15 Is/ought gap

4.11 Knowledge by acquaintance/description

6.7 Lacanian critique

5.6 Leibnizs law of identity

2.7 Logical constructions

3.16 Masked man fallacy

7.4 Mystical experience and revelation

4.12 Necessary/contingent

4.13 Necessary/sufficient

6.9 Nietzschean critique of Christian-Platonic culture

4.14 Objective/subjective

5.7 Ockhams razor

7.5 Paradoxes

3.17 Partners in guilt

5.8 Phenomenological method(s)

7.3 Philosophy and/as art

7.6 Possibility and impossibility

6.10 Pragmatist critique

7.7 Primitives

3.17 Principle of charity

3.18 Question-begging

4.15 Realist/non-realist

2.8 Reduction

3.19 Reductios