New open textbooks on Ethics & Philosophy of Mind


I am happy to announce the publication of the second book in a series of open textbooks for Introduction to Philosophy courses: Introduction to Philosophy: Ethics, edited by George Matthews (Plymouth State University, New Hampshire, USA). The first book in the series is Introduction to Philosophy: Philosophy of Mind, edited by Heather Salazar (Western New England University). 

Introduction to Philosophy: Ethics explores both historical and contemporary approaches to understanding and justifying moral and ethical norms. The chapters cover a wide range of topics, including moral relativism, the relationship between ethics and religion, virtue ethics in the Western and Eastern traditions, the question of self-interest and ethics, utilitarianism, Kantian deontological ethics, and recent work in feminist ethics and evolutionary ethics. 

Introduction to Philosophy: Philosophy of Mind surveys the central themes in philosophy of mind and places them in a historical and contemporary context intended to engage first-time readers in the field. It focuses on debates about the status and character of the mind and its seemingly subjective nature in an apparently more objective world. Written by experts and emerging researchers in their subject areas, chapters focus on substance dualism, materialism, behaviorism, functionalism, property dualism, qualia, concepts, and freedom of the will. 

The books are free of cost for the digital version and can be read online or downloaded in multiple formats. They have an open license (Creative Commons Attribution, CC BY) that allows revision and redistribution, with the requirement of attributing the original creators. 

Please let us know if you plan to use the books or any of the chapters for teaching, by filling in the adoption form!

About the Introduction to Philosophy open textbook series published with the support of the Rebus Community

There are nine books planned for the Introduction to Philosophy open textbook series at this point. Logic, Philosophy of Religion, and Aesthetics will be published in the coming months and there are also books in the works on Metaphysics, Epistemology, Philosophy of Science, and Social and Political Philosophy. Each book has its own editor, with Christina Hendricks (University of British Columbia Vancouver) serving as overall series editor.

The books are designed to be used for courses that introduce philosophical topics to students with little to no background in the field. They focus on foundational concepts and debates, both historical and contemporary, in their respective areas.

Please see the current call for volunteers if you’d like to help out with the project! And if you have questions or comments about the project or any of the books, please let us know on the discussion pages for the project. 

If you have any questions, please let me know!

Christina Hendricks
Series Editor, Introduction to Philosophy Open Textbook series

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Christina Hendricks, PhD (she, her) 
Professor of Teaching, Philosophy 
Academic Director, Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology 
The University of British Columbia | Vancouver Campus | Musqueam Traditional, Ancestral, Unceded Territory 
Irving K. Barber Learning Centre   214 – 1961 East Mall  | Vancouver BC | V6T 1Z1 Canada 
Phone 604 822 1136 
christina.hendricks@ubc.ca 
http://ctlt.ubc.ca