Experiencing Philosophy

Rating:
Summary: good text with innovative presentation
Review: This excellent book is one of the best introductory philosophy textbooks I have ever reviewed.The book has technically correct,nuanced positions and an ample supply of primary source excerpts.The author also provides a unique emphasis on the contemporary practical relevance of philosophy.Having resumed my teaching career after a long absence,I have found recently that students generally have a much less extensive background in humanities,history,and literature than in years past.Students come to us (in the philosophy profession) with very few,if any,reference points with regard to future philosophy studies.
It has become much harder to teach 100 level courses exclusively from primary source material.Furthermore,it has become harder to "sell" the value of philosophy to beginning students.The author writes in an engaging style and "makes the case" that philosophy is intrinsically valuable.The professor no longer needs to strategize in terms of justifying the course.With the increasing emphasis in university teaching on multiculturalism and
cultural diversity,the author provides substantial coverage of Native North American,Asian, and feminist perspectives.The author supplies the student with several study guides,progress checks,and goal questions based on the SQ3R method of learning.The book is supported by a companion website.

If I would have to mention one minor criticism,the author does certain things that I tell the students not to do in formal papers:refer to oneself as "I",refer to the reader as "you",use contractions,and address the reader using imperative statements and/or rhetorical questions.I understand why this might be done in an introductory text,but I am thinking it might be hard to tell the students not to do certain things that the textbook author himself does.Other than that one issue,I found the book to be a wonderful read.I definitely plan to use this book as the major text in a future INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY class.