by Robert M. Martin (Author)
This unique book provides everything one needs to get started in philosophy.
Back Jacket
Academic philosophy can be puzzling to newcomers. The conventions, terms, and expectations entrenched among philosophers aren't always clear from the outside. Why are philosophers so preoccupied with finding "the truth"--doesn't everyone have their own philosophy? Is philosophy so deep and difficult that its literature has to be incomprehensible? What kinds of arguments can there be for a philosophical position? Where does the evidence come from? Why is there so much jargon--wouldn't it be better to do away with it altogether? Best-selling author and retired philosophy professor Robert Martin answers these questions and many more, offering a practical guide to arguing and writing philosophically. Anecdotes, jokes, asides, digressions, oddments, and entertainments are included throughout, resulting in an informal introduction that doesn't shy away from the nuts and bolts of philosophical argument.
Author Biography
Robert M. Martin is Professor of Philosophy (retired) at Dalhousie University and author of many books, including Philosophical Conversations and the best-seller There Are Two Errors in the the Title of This Book.