The Great Conversation

Name: The Great Conversation
Price: 90.75 USD
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ISBN: 9780197663462

A Historical Introduction to Philosophy

by Norman Melchert, David Morrow

9th Edition

Publisher: Oxford University Press

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Book Details

Print ISBN	9780197663462
eText ISBN	9780197663493
Publisher	Oxford University Press
Publishing Year	2022
Edition	9th Edition
Language	English
Pages	856

The Great Conversation: A Historical Introduction to Philosophy, 9th Edition, provides undergraduate students with a structured introduction to historical and contemporary philosophical inquiry. Published by Oxford University Press, this edition by Norman Melchert and David Morrow pairs primary excerpts from major philosophical writings with detailed narrative commentary.

The coverage organizes core thematic arcs chronologically across eight hundred fifty-six pages. Discussions progress from Hesiod, Homer, and the Pre-Socratics into ancient Asian traditions, classical Athenian thought, medieval theology, and early modern philosophy starting with René Descartes. Later chapters address nineteenth-century reformers, pragmatism, linguistic analysis, existentialism, and contemporary debates in physical realism and political identity.

A primary structural feature is the extensive cross-referencing that illustrates how philosophers continually answer, revise, or reject prior arguments. This contextual framework fits introductory philosophy courses, helping students engage directly with primary source excerpts without requiring prior specialized coursework.

Chapter 1: BEFORE PHILOSOPHY: MYTH IN HESIOD AND HOMER
Chapter 2: PHILOSOPHY BEFORE SOCRATES
Chapter 3: APPEARANCE AND REALITY IN ANCIENT INDIA
Chapter 4: THE SOPHISTS: RHETORIC AND RELATIVISM IN ATHENS
Chapter 5: REASON AND RELATIVISM IN CHINA
Chapter 6: SOCRATES: TO KNOW ONESELF
Chapter 7: THE TRIAL AND DEATH OF SOCRATES
Chapter 8: PLATO: KNOWING THE REAL AND THE GOOD
Chapter 9: ARISTOTLE: THE REALITY OF THE WORLD
Chapter 10: CONFUCIUS, MENCIUS, AND XUNZI: VIRTUE IN ANCIENT CHINA
Chapter 11: EPICUREANS, STOICS, AND SKEPTICS: HAPPINESS FOR THE MANY
Chapter 12: JEWS AND CHRISTIANS: SIN, SALVATION, AND LOVE
Chapter 13: AUGUSTINE: GOD AND THE SOUL
Chapter 14: PHILOSOPHY IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD: THE GREAT CONVERSATION SPREADS OUT
Chapter 15: ANSELM AND AQUINAS: EXISTENCE AND ESSENCE IN GOD AND THE WORLD
Chapter 16: FROM MEDIEVAL TO MODERN EUROPE
Chapter 17: RENÉ DESCARTES: DOUBTING OUR WAY TO CERTAINTY
Chapter 18: HOBBES, LOCKE, AND BERKELEY: MATERIALISM AND THE BEGINNINGS OF EMPIRICISM
Chapter 19: DAVID HUME: UNMASKING THE PRETENSIONS OF REASON
Chapter 20: IMMANUEL KANT: REHABILITATING REASON (WITHIN STRICT LIMITS)
Chapter 21: GEORG WILHELM FRIEDRICH HEGEL: TAKING HISTORY SERIOUSLY
Chapter 22: KIERKEGAARD AND MARX: TWO WAYS TO “CORRECT” HEGEL
Chapter 23: MORAL AND POLITICAL REFORMERS: THE RIGHTS AND HAPPINESS OF ALL
Chapter 24: FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE: THE VALUE OF EXISTENCE
Chapter 25: THE PRAGMATISTS: THOUGHT AND ACTION
Chapter 26: LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN: LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS AND ORDINARY LANGUAGE
Chapter 27: MARTIN HEIDEGGER: THE MEANING OF BEING
Chapter 28: SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR: EXISTENTIALIST, FEMINIST
Chapter 29: POSTMODERNISM: DERRIDA, FOUCAULT, AND RORTY
Chapter 30: PHYSICAL REALISM AND THE MIND: QUINE, DENNETT, SEARLE, NAGEL, JACKSON, AND CHALMERS
Chapter 31: FARINESS, LIBERY, AND IDENTITY: RAWLS, NOZICK, AND YOUNG