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• Presents, in one volume, canonical and contemporary works in ethics, metaphysics, philosophy of religion, and epistemology.
  
• Topics discussed include knowledge, religion, freedom, morality, and the meaning of life.
  
• Serves as a comprehensive and compelling introduction to philosophy.
  
• Together with traditional readings it also presents non-traditional, feminist eadings from a continental perspectives.

"This is an extraordinary rich and refreshing collection of essays that brings together some of the most illuminating and provocative essays to be found in philosophy. This volume reveals the majesty of philosophy while, at the same time, showcasing the diversity and creativity that has made philosophy so appealing to the very best minds. I expect this reader to become a classic text." Laurence Thomas, Syracuse University

"This marvelous collection of readings from the Western tradition draws judiciously both from classic texts and contemporary authors. Reminding us of the basic importance for all human life of the central questions of philosophy, it orms an excellent introduction to the subject." Roger Trigg, University of Warwick

Ruth J. Sample is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of New Hampshire. She teaches social and political philosophy, early modern philosophy, and feminist philosophy, and is the author of Exploitation: What It Is and Why It’s Wrong (2003).

Charles W. Mills is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He works in the area of oppositional political theory and is the author of three books: The Racial Contract (1997), Blackness Visible: Essays on Philosophy and Race (1998), and From Class to Race: Essays in White Marxism and Black Radicalism (2003).

James P. Sterba is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, where he teaches ethics and political philosophy. His publications include How to Make People Just (1988), Feminist Philosophies (2nd edn., 1995), Justice for Here and Now (1998), Earth Ethics (2nd edn., 2000), Three Challenges to Ethics (2001),and Morality in Practice (7th edn., 2003).