Background
Porter, Burton Frederick was born on June 22, 1936 in New York City. Son of John and Doris (Neloway) Porter.
(The Good Life contains an exposition and critique of the ...)
The Good Life contains an exposition and critique of the various ideals in living that have been advocated by major philosophers and schools of thought. In addition, the ethical problems of egoism, determinism, and relativism are explained and evaluated in both their classic Greek form and in the deconstruction of post-modernism. The ideals that are discussed include hedonism as described by the Cyrenaics and Epicureans, and the Utilitarianism of Bentham and Mill; the naturalistic ethic of the Stoics, the Transcendentalists, the evolutionists, and the back-to-nature movement; the biblical ethic of Judaism and Christianity as well as the Eastern religions of Confucianism and Buddhism; and the Kantian ideal of duty and virtue ethics, including feminist theory. To illuminate various conceptions of the good life, multiple examples are drawn from contemporary life, including the abortion issue, racism, capital punishment, and multiculturalism.
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(For Introduction to Philosophy courses or for courses in ...)
For Introduction to Philosophy courses or for courses in Humanities and Philosophy in/and/of Literature. Philosophy Through Fiction and Film offers a fresh approach to philosophy using literary and film narratives along with standard philosophic works to introduce students to the basic branches of the field. The fiction and film enliven the philosophic issues, tapping into today's cultural experience, and the philosophic works ground the issues, showing their deeper significance. At the same time, the fundamental issues of philosophy are covered to provide a complete introduction to the field.
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(Lively, comprehensive, and contemporary, The Voice of Rea...)
Lively, comprehensive, and contemporary, The Voice of Reason: Fundamentals of Critical Thinking covers three principal areas: thought and language, systematic reasoning, and modes of proof. It employs highly accessible explanations and a multitude of examples drawn from social issues and various academic fields, showing students and other readers how to construct and criticize arguments using the techniques of sound reasoning. The Voice of Reason examines the traditional elements of the field and also explores new ground. The first section of the book elucidates the relationship between thought and language, explaining how words function. It discusses meaning, connotation, vagueness, ambiguity, and definition, identifying the linguistic elements that can produce mistakes in thinking. The next section describes the rules of systematic reasoning, examining such topics as truth, relevance, and adequacy; deductive logic (categorical, hypothetical, and disjunctive); and induction (cause and effect, analogy, generalization, and hypothesis). Sixteen fallacies in thinking are also described through extensive illustrations and applications. The final section of the book offers a unique study of what constitutes proof in several different areas--including politics, advertising, law, and social issues--as well as in the academic disciplines of literature, science, history, and ethics. The author describes the various rules of evidence, using essays by major figures in each field as examples. An ideal text for courses in critical thinking, informal logic, and reasoning and writing, The Voice of Reason offers numerous pedagogical features including a host of examples; assignments, exercises, and puzzles at both the halfway point and at the end of each chapter; cartoons and quotations throughout; and practical applications of theoretical concepts. An extensive Instructor's Manual contains answers to the exercises that appear throughout the text.
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( This book describes the "naturalistic fallacy", as attr...)
This book describes the "naturalistic fallacy", as attributed to Hume, that non-moral premises cannot logically entail a moral conclusion, and distinguishes it from the similarly named though subtly different fallacy identified by Moore in Principia Ethica by comparing and contrasting its presence in a range of ethical or moral systems. A review of Hume’s position elicits the implications to theological naturalism, and how this relates to Kierkegaard’s "paradox of faith" and the doctrine of ineffability. Methods of logical examination of religious language are discussed, leading to the dissection of the analytic proposition that ‘God is Good’ and of the connotations of proper names. Porter concludes from this a solution to the naturalistic fallacy: that "good" is essential to "God" by definition, and therefore that premises relating to God must contain an inherent morality. Originally published in 1968, this book includes topics such as Mediaeval attitudes to deity and morality; Religious myth, images and language; Comparative conceptions of deity.
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(Dynamic combinations of first-rate philosophers and ficti...)
Dynamic combinations of first-rate philosophers and fiction writers make Philosophy: A Literary & Conceptual Approach an important tool for introductory philosophy students and scholars looking for a fresh approach to traditional schools of thought. Evocative literary excerpts from writers such as Margaret Atwood, Ralph Ellison, Emile Zola, and Albert Camus are paired with standard philosophic texts from theorists such as Simone de Beauvoir, Shelby Steele, Karl Marx, and Jean-Paul Sartre. Features: * Paralles use of philosophical and literary readings provides a more accessible introduction to philosophy. * Coverage includes discussion of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, philosophy of religion, and philosophy of art. * Introductions to both literary and philosophical readings give students a context in which to approach selections. New to this edition: * Updated coverage relates classic philosophic concepts to contemporary concerns - diversity, feminism, racism and skepticism. * New coverage in Chapter 1 includes discussion of identity as defined by society and relates this concept to an exploration of feminism. * New discussion of deconstruction in Chapter 5 explores skepticism as it relates to the nature of reality.
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(The Second Edition of Philosophy Through Film continues t...)
The Second Edition of Philosophy Through Film continues to break new ground for the Introductory philosophy course by using classic and contemporary films to illustrate traditional philosophic works. The philosophical contents comples alive as never before as it is linked with students' contemporary experience. Classic readings from Plato's Republic through J.S. Mills' Utilitarianism through C.S. Lewis' The Problem of Pain continue to anchor the text, and provide the thematic structure as the reader moves from the study of epistemology through metaphysics, ethics, religion and politics. The new edition brings the illustrative material up to the present with the inclusion of films such as Crash, The Minority Report, and The Truman Show as well as the addition of classic productions such as Diary of a Country Priest and To Kill a Mockingbird.
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Dean author Philosophy educator
Porter, Burton Frederick was born on June 22, 1936 in New York City. Son of John and Doris (Neloway) Porter.
Bachelor Philosophy cum laude, special literature honours, University Maryland, 1959. Doctor of Philosophy, St. Andrews University, Scotland, 1968. Postgraduate, Oxford University, England.
Assistant professor philosophy University Maryland, London, 1966-1969. Associate professor philosophy King's College, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, 1969-1971. Professor philosophy, chairman department Russell Sage College, Troy, New York, 1971-1987.
Professor philosophy, head department humanities-committee Drexel University, Philadelphia, 1987-1991. Dean arts and science Western New England College, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1991-1999, professor philosophy, 1999—2004. Visiting professor Mount Holyoke College, Hadley, Massachusetts, 2004—2008.
( This book describes the "naturalistic fallacy", as attr...)
( This book describes the "naturalistic fallacy", as attr...)
(Dynamic combinations of first-rate philosophers and ficti...)
(The Second Edition of Philosophy Through Film continues t...)
(Lively, comprehensive, and contemporary, The Voice of Rea...)
(The Good Life contains an exposition and critique of the ...)
(The Good Life contains an exposition and critique of the ...)
(For Introduction to Philosophy courses or for courses in ...)
Member of Modern Language Association, American Philosophical Association.
Married Susan Jane Porter, May 10, 1966 (divorced 1974). 1 child, Anastasia; married Barbara Taylor Metcalf, December 31, 1980. 1 child, Mark Graham.