Making philosophy accessible and interesting.
Books

Recommended books: The following books contain material that is useful to the study of Philosophy and Critical Reasoning.

Bertrand Russell’s, 1912 The Problems of Philosophy (various publishers) as well as Simon Blackburn’s, 1999 Think (Oxford University Press) are both slim volumes that are excellent introductions to the subject for the uninitiated.

The anonymous, 2011 The Philosophy Book (Dorling Kindersley Ltd. ISBN: 978-11-4053-5329-8) is a wonderful coffee table introduction to Philosophy; however no topic is covered in sufficient depth as to merit serious study. That said, it is still a remarkable book.

M. E. S. van den Berg, 2010 Critical Reasoning and the Art of Argumentation (UNISA Press) is an excellent introduction to informal logic for students of any subject that relies on critical reasoning and the art of argumentation.

Irving Copi’s, 1979 Symbolic Logic 5th Edition (Macmillan and now available in paperback from Pearson India Educational Services) has been a standard textbook of logic for three generations of philosophy students. We rely heavily on Copi’s text both in its layout and content.

The Oxford Companion to Philosophy, 2005 2nd Edition, ed. Ted Honderich (Oxford University Press) is an invaluable reference work with nearly 2000 entries by 249 distinguished philosophers. An excellent starting point for any investigation!

The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy (2016) 3rd Edition (Oxford University Press) is an authoritative reference; although all technical terms used in this website are defined under the glossary tab above, together with links to the study unit where each term was first introduced or later redefined in another context.

Finally, the following philosophical fantasies are sheer reading pleasure.

The Name of the Rose (1980, English translation 1983) is a historical murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327. The protagonist friar William of Baskerville and his assistant Adso of Melk use Aristotelian logic and deduction to solve a number of suspicions deaths of monks in the abbey, closely escaping their own. In spite of the distant historical setting this is as much as fast pace contemporary thriller that comes to a shocking, logically consistent end.

Jostein Gaarder’s, 1996 Sophie’s World (Phoenix House) is a beautiful novel about a 14-year-old Norwegian girl who is introduced to the history of philosophy with the question “Who are you?” by an unknow philosopher. Sophie’s World is non-technical but thoughtful novel for the teenager of all ages in us.

James Morrow’s 2007 The Philosopher’s Apprentice is sheer philosophical fantasy, well worth the read.

All other reading material: will be provided on-line.

Other On-line Resources: Many important scientific articles that are inaccessible to individuals can be “unlocked” at https://sci-hub.se/

General and academic books are now available on the TOR network. If you do not have the TOR browser, open your regular browser and type in “Download TOR browser” and install it. Once installed, paste the following link into the navigation bar: http://loginzlib2vrak5zzpcocc3ouizykn6k5qecgj2tzlnab5wcbqhembyd.onion/ We recommend creating a free account.
This website is a free, non-profit, online resource for studying philosophy at a graduate level.