Steven Cahn

Immanuel Kant's _Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals_ is widely regarded as one of the most influential works in the history of moral philosophy. Indeed, any student of ethics will soon encounter a translation of the book, although trying to read it is likely to cause bewilderment. What, one may ask, is Kant trying to say? This book provides the answers. Here, seven highly regarded teachers and scholars of Kant's ethics offer remarkably clear explanations of the most important concepts in the _Groundwork_: the good will, happiness, duty, hypothetical and categorical imperatives, the Formula of Universal Law, the Formula of Humanity, and freedom._ Contents:_ Preface _The Good Will_, Nataliya Palatnik _Happiness_, Anne Margaret Baxley _Duty_, Laura Papish _Imperatives_, Tamar Schapiro _The Formula of Universal Law_, Kyla Ebels-Duggan _The Formula of Humanity_, Japa Pallikkathayil _Freedom_, Lucy Allais About the Contributors Index.

Some students find philosophy engrossing; others are merely bewildered. How can professors meet the challenge of teaching introductory-level philosophy so that their students, regardless of initial incentive or skill, come to understand and even enjoy the subject? For nearly a decade, renowned philosopher and teacher Steven M. Cahn offered doctoral students a fourteen-week, credit-bearing course to prepare them to teach undergraduates. At schools where these instructors were appointed, department chairs reported a dramatic increase in student interest. In this book, Cahn captures the essence of that course. Yet many of the topics he discusses concern all faculty, regardless of subject: a teacher's responsibilities, the keys to effective instruction, the proper approach to term papers, examinations, and grades; and suggestions for how administrators should demonstrate that they take teaching seriously. Such matters are covered in the first seven chapters and in the final, fourteenth chapter. The intermediate six chapters focus on teaching introductory philosophy and, in particular, on critical thinking, free will, philosophy of religion, ethics, and political philosophy. Cahn's writing is lucid and lively, using vivid examples and avoiding educational jargon. In sum, this book is not only a guide on how to inspire students but also an inspiration for teachers themselves.

Steven M. Cahn's advice on the professorial life covers an extensive range of critical issues: how to plan, complete, and defend a dissertation; how to navigate a job interview; how to improve teaching performance; how to prepare and publish research; how to develop a professional network; and how to garner support for tenure. He deals with such hurdles as a difficult dissertation advisor, problematic colleagues, and the pressures of the tenure clock. Whether you are beginning graduate study, hoping to secure an academic position, or striving to build a professorial career, Cahn's insights are invaluable to traversing the thickets of academia.

Now even more affordably priced in its second edition, Classic and Contemporary Readings in the Philosophy of Education is ideal for undergraduate and graduate philosophy of education courses. Editor Steven M. Cahn, a highly respected contributor to the field, brings together writings by leading figures in the history of philosophy and notable contemporary thinkers. The first section of the book provides material from nine classic writers: Plato, Aristotle, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, Wollstonecraft, Mill, Whitehead, and Dewey. Their historically important works encourage students to view current issues and debates from broad perspectives. The second section presents twenty-one recent selections that reflect diverse approaches, including pragmatism, analytic philosophy, feminism, and multiculturalism. The readings are substantial or complete texts, not fragments.The second edition of Classic and Contemporary Readings in the Philosophy of Education features expanded selections by Locke, Rousseau, Kant, and Dewey, along with eight new readings:* Mary Wollstonecraft, "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" * Patricia Heidenry, "Home Is Where the School Is"* Joseph S. Spoerl, "Justice and the Case for School Vouchers"* Jeffrey R. Henig, "Rethinking School Choice"* John Passmore, "The Concept of Teaching"* Michel Foucault, "Discipline and Punish" * Steven M. Cahn, "Guiding, Grading, and Guarding"* Martha Nussbaum, "Cultivating Humanity" Offering unprecedented breadth and depth of coverage, Classic and Contemporary Readings in the Philosophy of Education, Second Edition, is the most inclusive, thorough, and accessible introduction to the field.

This anthology is intended to be used in Political Philosophy courses. It focuses on contemporary political problems, and it is intended to be paired with any of the numerous readers which are dedicated to the history of political philosophy. History, theory, and political problems are the three pillars of the political philosophy course. However, while the anthologies on the history of political philosophy are numerous, there are relatively few sources that focus on contemporary political problems. This book fills that gap, with the leading contemporary positions on school vouchers, government support for the arts, pornography, same sex marriage, drug legalization, gun control, terrorism, torture, capital punishment, affirmative action, Immigration, and the environment.

No volume by single scholar can recreate the incessant dialectic of contemporary philosophic inquiry; hence we are offering a series that is a collaboration of many hands. The present series is intended to provide students, teachers, and interested nonprofessionals with collections of essays in every major problem area of contemporary philosophy. Each volume is devoted to a single set of interconnected issues; each issue is currently that subject of intense philosophic discussion. In making relatively inaccessible essays available, this series will enable teachers of philosophy to find strategic or supplementary materials for a wide range of courses. To the student it offers the luxury of possessing essays formerly buried in bound journals or closeted in library reserves. To readers other than teachers and students, the series offers an opportunity to explore contemporary philosophy at first hand. To all readers, it offers original formulations of new ideas and fresh insight into topics of ancient ancestry. -Introduction / Frank A. Tillman.

Moral Problems in Higher Education brings together key essays that explore ethical issues in academia. The editor and contributors-all noted philosophers and educators-consider such topics as academic freedom and tenure, free speech on campus, sexual harassment, preferential student admissions, affirmative action in faculty appointments, and the ideal of a politically neutral university. Chapters address possible restrictions on research because of moral concerns, the structure of peer review, telling the truth to colleagues and students, and concerns raised by intercollegiate athletics. Cahn selects two key readings in each area to offer a readable introductory guide to these critical subjects for students studying academic ethics and higher education policy. In addition to the selections and a general introduction, Cahn provides study questions for use in the classroom. Contributors include Scott F. Aikin, Derek Bok, William G. Bowen, Myles Brand, Richard T. DeGeorge, Paul D. Eisenberg, Leslie Pickering Francis, Martin P. Golding, Philip Kitcher, Charles R. Lawrence III, David Lewis, Paul J. Olscamp, Nancy Tuana, David Shatz, George Sher, Robert L. Simon, Robert B. Talisse, Stephan Thernstrom, Abigail Thernstrom, Laurence Thomas, Robert Paul Wolff, and the editor.

Questioning the entrenched and monochromatic view of Schoenberg's historical consciousness, that he saw himself as history's instrument for the advancement of music, this study finds Schoenberg's historical consciousness to be multifaceted. The most important common factor is creativity, which should be animated by historical consciousness, not squelched by it. In this respect, Schoenberg's thought is resonant with that of Goethe, Kant, Hegel, Wilhelm von Humboldt, Zunz, Krochmal, Nietzsche, Bergson, Musil, Rosenzweig and Cohen. Like Schoenberg, each of these thinkers espouses the boundlessness of possibility, variation and creativity in the world. Yet Schoenberg's works also bring into relief the conflicted coexistence of historical consciousness and artistic creativity. ;To illustrate the devitalizing aspects of history, Schoenberg's views are compared to similar views of Rosenzweig and Musil. Polemics between Schoenberg and those who see decline in modern art, such as Schenker, Riemann and Spengler, reveal Schoenberg's antipathy to excesses of history. Nietzsche's The Use and Abuse of History informs this analysis . ;We next consider how historical consciousness can foster creativity. Karl Popper argues that Schoenberg entangled art with historicist ideology. This view is incomplete because it neglects the idea which Schoenberg inherited from modern Judaism's turn to history, that historical understanding promotes cultural regeneration . ;To show how works may embody one or more historical positions, Schoenberg's compositions are considered in light of his attempts at historical narrative, which are analyzed with respect to four themes: continuity, discontinuity, social history and the phenomenology of creativity . ;Affinities between art and history suggested in the work of Humboldt, Bergson, Croce, Musil, D'Arcy Thompson, Lakoff, Edelman and Gruber are related to Schoenberg's writings . These findings ground the analyses of four works: Erwartung, Die gluckliche Hand, Vorgefuhl, Op. 22, No. 4 and A Survivor from Warsaw . ;The Five Piano Pieces, Op 23, are discussed in terms of conflicts that arise when aesthetic and historical assessments of a musical composition disagree, and in terms of how Schoenberg addressed such conflicts . ;Schoenberg's evolutionary and intuitionistic view of musical perception, as described in Harmonielehre, is considered vis-a-vis the contrasting evolutionary views of Mach and Bergson