Philosophy: Paradox and Discovery

Rating:
Summary: Five years of growing minds with five parts.
Review: For five years I have used the five parts of Philosophy: Paradox and Discovery to grow student minds. During this time, I have reviewed many other introductory philosophy texts. I can find none I would rather use. The strength of this text is that the powerful readings are organized by the five major philosophical questions of contemporary inquiry. Most other texts offer an array of readings by philosophers with no organizing themes. Also, the authors' statements of "Paradox" which introduce the parts, and their statements of "Problem" introducing the chapters/readings provide the student with the overviews and specifics of the readings. I heartily recommend this text for introductory courses, and to anyone interested in beginning or continuing the joy of philosophical inquiry and mind-expansion.

Rating:
Summary: Boring, Boring, Boring!
Review: The by line for the book should credit Plato, Socrates, Aristotle and their colleagues. The most writing done by Minton or Shipka is the brief introductory paragraph (or sometimes sentence) before each essay written by great philosophers. The book has it's uses in entry-level courses but considering the average reader is a college student whose attention span is limited if the material is not provocative to read, the text's usefulness is greatly reduced. College professors, pass this one up.