Peter S. Fosl (Author) - The Philosophers Toolkit: A Compendium of Philosophical Concepts and Methods

Peter S. Fosl is Professor of Philosophy and Chair of PPE at Transylvania University, Kentucky. He is author of Humes Scepticism (2020), coauthor of The Critical Thinking Toolkit (Wiley Blackwell, 2016) and The Ethics Toolkit (Wiley Blackwell, 2007), editor of The Big Lebowski and Philosophy (Wiley Blackwell, 2012), and coeditor of Philosophy: The Classic Readings (Wiley Blackwell, 2009).

Julian Baggini is Academic Director of the Royal Institute of Philosophy and an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Kent. He was the founding editor of The Philosophers Magazine and has written for numerous newspapers and magazines, as well as for the think tanks The Institute of Public Policy Research, Demos, and Counterpoint. He is the author, coauthor, or editor of over 20 books, including How the World Thinks, The Virtues of the Table, The Ego Trick, Freedom Regained, and The Edge of Reason.

Praise for previous editions

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 crossreferenced (making it better than the Teach Yourself 100 philosophical concepts) and supported by a useful index.

Reference Reviews

This book is... an encyclopedia of philosophy. It should be of great use as a quick and accurate reference guide to the skill of philosophy, especially for beginners, but also for instructors... highly recommended.

Choice

The Philosophers Toolkit is a very good book. It could be highly useful for both introductory courses in philosophy, or philosophical methodology, as well as independent study for anyone interested in the methods of argument, assessment and criticism... It is unique in approach, and written in a pleasant and considerate tone. This book will help one to get going to do philosophy, but more advanced students might find this text helpful too. I wish I had had access to this book as an undergraduate.

Teaching Philosophy

PETER S. FOSL and JULIAN BAGGINI

THIRD EDITION

This third edition first published 2020
2020 Peter S. Fosl and Julian Baggini

Edition history: Blackwell Publishing Ltd (1e, 2003; 2e, 2010)

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The right of Peter S. Fosl and Julian Baggini to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with law.

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Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Names: Fosl, Peter S., author. | Baggini, Julian, author.
Title: The philosophers toolkit : a compendium of philosophical concepts and methods / Peter S. Fosl and Julian Baggini.
Description: Third edition. | Hoboken : WileyBlackwell, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019053537 (print) | LCCN 2019053538 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119103219 (paperback) | ISBN 9781119103226 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119103233 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Reasoning. | Methodology.
Classification: LCC BC177 .F675 2020 (print) | LCC BC177 (ebook) | DDC 101dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019053537
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019053538

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For Rick ONeil, colleague and friend, in memoriam

We are indebted to Nicholas Fearn, who helped to conceive and plan this book, and whose fingerprints can still be found here and there. We are deeply grateful to Jeff Dean at WileyBlackwell for nurturing the book from a good idea in theory to, we hope, a good book in practice. Thanks to Rick ONeil, Jack Furlong, Ellen Cox, Mark Moorman, Randall Auxier, Bradley Monton, Avery Kolers, Tom Flynn, and Saul Kutnicki for their help with various entries as well as to the anonymous reviewers for their thorough scrutiny of the text. We are also thankful for the work of Peters secretary, Ann Cranfill, as well as of many of his colleagues for proofreading. Robert E. Rosenberg, Peters colleague in chemistry, exhibited extraordinary generosity in reviewing the scientific content of the text. We would also like to express our appreciation to Manish Luthra, Marissa Koors, Liz Wingett, Daniel Finch, Rachel Greenberg, Aneetta Antony, and Caroline McPherson at Wiley for their careful and supportive editorial work. Thanks also to Peters students for their feedback, as well as for corrections and suggestions for improvement sent to us from several readers. Our enduring gratitude goes to Peters spouse and children Catherine Fosl, Isaac Foslvan Wyke, and Elijah Fosl as well as to Julians partner, Antonia, for their patient support.