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The best and most instructive way to learn about philosophy is by examining the history of the field. For it is here that we come to see how its particulars are identified and addressed by some of humankind's sharpest intellects. Philosophy began hundreds of years BCE, and by now has grown to a scope and scale beyond acceptability by any single mind. But a sampling of episodes and issues can convey some idea of the nature of the field. And it is with this goal in view-clarifying the detail of some key philosophical issues-that these studies are being put into print. It is the aim of these forays into philosophical history to illustrate how contemporary perspectives, methods, and instruments of analysis can clarify some of the key philosophical teachings both by highlighting the difficulties they encounter and by providing instructive means for addressing them.

Chapter 1: Personhood -- Chapter 2: The Ethical Import Of Value Attribution -- Chapter 3: The Rational Validation Of Ethical Values -- Chapter 4: Rationality And Moral Obligation -- Chapter 5: On Compromise And Obligation -- Chapter 6: Moral Luck -- Chapter 7: Fairness Problems -- Chapter 8: On The Ethics Of Inaction -- Chapter 9: Ancestor Worship? -- Chapter 10: Distant Posterity(A Philosophical Glance Along Time's Corridor) -- Chapter 11: Is There A Statute Of Limitations In Ethics? -- Chapter 12:An Ethical Paradox -- Chapter 13: Collective Responsibility -- Chapter 14: Allocating Scientific Credit -- Chapter 15: Morality In Government And Politics -- Chapter 16: Problems Of Betterment -- Chapter 17: Sovereign Immunity In Theological Ethics -- Chapter 18: Perfectibility Problems.

Philosophy is the project of seeking for answers to "the big questions" regarding the condition of man, the nature of Reality, and man's place within its scheme of things. The philosopher tries, as best one can, to address this range of complex and difficult issues. Against this background, this book considers some major areas of philosophical concern: namely, humans and their interpersonal relations, reality and our knowledge thereof, and philosophizing itself. It presents various case studies that typify the philosopher's approach to the issues.

Sensible conjecture -- Imprecision -- Truth-contextuality and plausibility -- Managing imperfect information -- Common sense -- Terminating explanatory regress -- Quantitative epistemology -- On kinds of things -- Prediction and knowability -- Cognitive fashions -- Problems of absolute truth -- Unethical beliefs, reprehensible opinions -- Culpable ignorance -- Epistemic triage -- Inconceivable possibilities -- Optimalism in explaining the nature of things

Philosophy as rational systematization -- Philosophical disagreement and criticism -- Functionalistic pragmatism -- Pragmatic metaphysics -- On the meaning of life -- Realism about political philosophy -- Respecting standards -- Valuational pragmatism -- Pragmatic theology

Everything we know about what goes on in the world comes to us through reports, information transmitted through human communication. This book offers a clear, accessible introduction to the theory of reporting, with a special emphasis on national security, particularly military and diplomatic reporting, drawing on examples from historical accounts of espionage and statecraft from the Second World War.

Chapter 1 Treating Claims Impartially -- chapter 2 Abstract Fairness and Claim Proportionality -- chapter 3 The Liabilities and Assets of Fairness -- chapter 4 Going Beyond Fairness? Subjective Equity and Benevolent Allocation -- chapter 5 Probabilistic Expectations: Dividing Prospective Gains in Risk Situations: The Historical Background -- chapter 6 Predominantism: Limits of Proportionism in Pre-Ownership -- chapter 7 Dividing Credit for Discoveries: Limits of Proportionalism in Teamwork -- chapter 8 The Pragmatic Rationale of Distribution Principles.

The prime intent of this work is one of innovation. Nicholas Rescher addresses issues that are under-examined in the present state of discussion, their inherent interest notwithstanding. The linking thread of these investigations is their pragmatic dimension, inherent in the idea that rational inquiry is itself a practice - albeit one that functions in the ideationally cognitive rather than physically manipulative realm. As a practice, it has its aims and functions that in their turn provide for the standards of adequacy and efficacy that establish the criteriological norms of our cognitive proceedings. Written for students and scholars of philosophy and of information theory

"The first comprehensive chronology of philosophical anecdotes, from antiquity to the current era. Rescher introduces the major thinkers, texts, and historical periods of Western philosophy, recounting many of the stories philosophers have used over time to engage with issues of philosophical concern: questions of meaning, truth, knowledge, value, action, and ethics. Rescher's anecdotes touch on a wide range of themes - from logic to epistemology, ethics to metaphysics"