This book is a comprehensive collection of historical and contemporary readings across the major fields of philosophy. With depth and quality, this introductory anthology offers a selection of readings that is both extensive and expansive; the readings span twenty-five centuries. With depthand quality, this introductory anthology offers a selection of readings that is both extensive and expansive; the readings span centuries. From two thousand five-hundred years ago to just a few years ago, the selections include whole works or excerpts from such classic thinkers as Plato, Aristotle,Blaise Pascal, John Locke, and John Stuart Mill and such contemporary thinkers as Noam Chomsky, Thomas Nagel, Robert Nozick, Derek Parfit, and Hilary Putnam. The selections are organized topically into five parts: Religion and Belief, Moral and Political Philosophy, Metaphysics and Epistemology,Philosophy of Mind and Language, and Life and Death. The product of the collaboration of three highly respected scholars in their fields - Tamar Szabo Gendler, Susanna Siegel, and Steven M. Cahn - The Elements of Philosophy also includes introductions from the editors, explanatory footnotes, and aglossary.