The Big Questions: A Short Introduction to Philosophy

This textbook encourages undergraduates to wrestle with life's "big questions" in order to define and articulate their own philosophical understandings. In 11 chapters devoted to themes such as truth, freedom, and beauty, the ideas of the great philosophers of the past are presented as a guide to ways of putting together one's own views. The Mac- and Windows-compatible CD-ROM contains the text of more than 100 key works from the history of philosophy. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Robert C. Solomon (1942-2007) was internationally renowned as a teacher and lecturer in philosophy. He was Quincy Lee Centennial Professor and Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Texas at Austin. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and over the course of his career taught at numerous institutions, including Princeton University, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Auckland, and the University of California, in addition to the University of Texas. He authored over forty books, including INTRODUCING PHILOSOPHY, A SHORT HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY, THE PASSIONS, IN THE SPIRIT OF HEGEL, ABOUT LOVE, ABOVE THE BOTTOM LINE, Fourth Edition (with Clancy Martin), ETHICS AND EXCELLENCE, THE JOY OF PHILOSOPHY, and TRUE TO OUR FEELINGS, and he was co-editor of TWENTY QUESTIONS, Fifth Edition (with Lee Bowie and Meredith Michaels), and SINCE SOCRATES (with Clancy Martin).

Kathleen M. Higgins is professor at the University of Texas at Austin. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University and has taught at the University of Auckland and the University of California, Riverside, in addition to the University of Texas. She is author of several books, including NIETZSCHE'S ZARATHUSTRA, THE MUSIC OF OUR LIVES, and COMIC RELIEF, and co-wrote (with Robert C. Solomon) WHAT NIETZSCHE REALLY SAID, A SHORT HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY, and A PASSION FOR WISDOM. She has edited or co-edited numerous books, including AESTHETICS IN PERSPECTIVE and THIRTEEN QUESTIONS IN ETHICS AND SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY, Second Edition (with Lee Bowie and Meredith Michaels).