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Introduction: Show Me
the Arguments
Michael Bruce and Steven Barbone
“ We are going to ruin undergraduate philosophy. ” That was what we told
our friends and teachers when we pitched the idea of this book to them. It
was our experience that for almost any given philosophy class that we took
as undergraduates, there were only a handful of arguments, totaling no
more than a few pages of carefully crafted notes, that we needed to know.
We imagined a rolodex of arguments in front of us, which we could spin
through with ease to fi nd the argument and move on. Midterm or fi nal
examinations in one of these classes would be reduced to presenting a philosopher
’ s argument, followed by a critique – usually another philosopher ’ s
argument. The ability to state an argument clearly and concisely, in a term
paper, for example, demonstrates that one succinctly understands the material.
The following arguments can be viewed as answers to such test questions
and also to some of life ’ s questions as well.
“ Show me the argument ” is the battle cry for philosophers. Everyone
has subjective personal experiences, sentiments, and opinions, so philosophy
appeals to the common ground of reason to evaluate claims objectively.
Logical reasoning is independent of political and religious commitments.
Put simply, an argument is valid or it is not. (Whether or not it is convincing
is another issue.) When one analyzes a position in terms of its argument,
one responds with a certain level of rigor and attention. Uncompelling
arguments can be dismissed out of hand as absurd and forgotten; however,
arguments that evoke strong reactions, often due to the potential consequences
of the argument, are countered by a restatement of the initial
argument, explicitly displaying the inferences, assumptions, and justifi cations
and why the conclusions do not follow. When things become serious,
one wants just the arguments .
Just the Arguments: 100 of the Most Important Arguments in Western Philosophy,
First Edition. Edited by Michael Bruce and Steven Barbone.
© 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2011 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
2 Michael Bruce and Steven Barbone
The time has long passed when it was possible for one to read the entire
Western philosophical canon. Philosophy needs new didactic tools to
address the fact that the quantity of infl uential arguments will increase while
the number of hours that a student at any level has will remain relatively
the same. Philosophy as a formal discipline will increasingly need to “ get
smart ” about how it selects which arguments deserve more attention than
others in the classroom and then how to teach them. Outside of the classroom,
there are little - to - no resources that function as study guides. Detailed
study guides are made for everything – the Bible, calculus, grammar, biology
– except for philosophy. There are laminated sheets in bookstores that list
all the standard mathematical equations, sheets that have common Spanish
verbs, and even one on “ Golf for Women, ” but not one has arguments on
the existence of God, free will, or moral responsibility. Many books present
important philosophical arguments, but it is often the case that these books
outline only a single argument or a string of related arguments. Encyclopedias
of philosophy are great for limited descriptions of philosophers and concepts,
but there is a need for reference tools that offer specifi c arguments.
In the end, these secondary sources often bury the argument in commentary
and analysis and do not lend themselves to concise and effi cient referencing.
It can take just as long to fi nd an argument in the analysis as it would to
go to the original text. This volume acts as a compact and accessible companion
to both sources.
It deserves to be underscored that this volume showcases 100 of the most
important arguments and that this list is not exhaustive or uncontroversial.
This is the fi rst project of its kind. There are not standardized accounts of
arguments that are univocally accepted in the fi eld. Experts in every fi eld
disagree – perhaps even more so in philosophy. Arguments that are valued
now may not be considered to be as equally important in the future. Even
when there is an agreement that an argument is important, it can be far
from clear how the argument goes or what the correct conclusion is.
Authors in this volume have selected representative quotations in support
of their versions of the arguments. The following arguments are not ranked
against each other as more or less important. Aquinas ’ Five Ways should
not be considered more important than other arguments based on the fact
that it comes fi rst. There are many more, important arguments that are not
included here, and we hope to provide these in forthcoming installments.
We have selected arguments that an undergraduate philosophy major
would be likely to encounter, though many of the issues arise in general
education classes outside of philosophy. A majority of the arguments employ
intuitive logical inferences, allowing readers without formal training in logic
to follow the argument. The inference rule used to draw each conclusion is
named to enable the reader to see explicitly the argument ’ s valid structure.
We provide an overview of the inferences in the appendices. There are a
Introduction: Show Me the Arguments 3
few arguments that require a more advanced understanding of logic, and
readers will benefi t from the introduction and commentary that provide the
general strategy.
This volume is divided into six parts: philosophy of religion, metaphysics,
epistemology, ethics, philosophy of mind, and philosophies of science
and language. There are more branches of philosophy than there are sections
in the volume, and there are other important arguments within the
given domains than those presented here. It is common that arguments in
one area are also important and infl uence arguments in another. Many
arguments could have been included in multiple sections. These divisions
are provisional, and arguments will reference related arguments in the book,
signaled by “ # ” and then the number of the argument. The bibliographic
information in each article will also be instructive for further reading. The
following are introductions to the arguments in the form of the questions
that they address. In other words, we provide the questions that would
naturally lead one to the argument. For example, “ Is change real (#14)? ”
directs readers to the article “ Parmenides ’ Refutation of Change, ” argument
#14.
Philosophy of Religion
What were Aquinas ’ “ Five Ways ” to prove the existence of God (#1)? Must
there be at least one self - existent being that explains why there is something
rather than nothing (#2)? If something begins to exist, then does it have a
cause (#3)? If God is something than which nothing greater can be thought,

Introduction: Show Me

the Arguments

Michael Bruce and Steven Barbone

“ We are going to ruin undergraduate philosophy. ” That was what we told

our friends and teachers when we pitched the idea of this book to them. It

was our experience that for almost any given philosophy class that we took

as undergraduates, there were only a handful of arguments, totaling no

more than a few pages of carefully crafted notes, that we needed to know.

We imagined a rolodex of arguments in front of us, which we could spin

through with ease to fi nd the argument and move on. Midterm or fi nal

examinations in one of these classes would be reduced to presenting a philosopher

’ s argument, followed by a critique – usually another philosopher ’ s

argument. The ability to state an argument clearly and concisely, in a term

paper, for example, demonstrates that one succinctly understands the material.

The following arguments can be viewed as answers to such test questions

and also to some of life ’ s questions as well.

“ Show me the argument ” is the battle cry for philosophers. Everyone

has subjective personal experiences, sentiments, and opinions, so philosophy

appeals to the common ground of reason to evaluate claims objectively.

Logical reasoning is independent of political and religious commitments.

Put simply, an argument is valid or it is not. (Whether or not it is convincing

is another issue.) When one analyzes a position in terms of its argument,

one responds with a certain level of rigor and attention. Uncompelling

arguments can be dismissed out of hand as absurd and forgotten; however,

arguments that evoke strong reactions, often due to the potential consequences

of the argument, are countered by a restatement of the initial

argument, explicitly displaying the inferences, assumptions, and justifi cations

and why the conclusions do not follow. When things become serious,

one wants just the arguments .

Just the Arguments: 100 of the Most Important Arguments in Western Philosophy,

First Edition. Edited by Michael Bruce and Steven Barbone.

2 Michael Bruce and Steven Barbone

The time has long passed when it was possible for one to read the entire

Western philosophical canon. Philosophy needs new didactic tools to

address the fact that the quantity of infl uential arguments will increase while

the number of hours that a student at any level has will remain relatively

the same. Philosophy as a formal discipline will increasingly need to “ get

smart ” about how it selects which arguments deserve more attention than

others in the classroom and then how to teach them. Outside of the classroom,

there are little - to - no resources that function as study guides. Detailed

study guides are made for everything – the Bible, calculus, grammar, biology

– except for philosophy. There are laminated sheets in bookstores that list

all the standard mathematical equations, sheets that have common Spanish

verbs, and even one on “ Golf for Women, ” but not one has arguments on

the existence of God, free will, or moral responsibility. Many books present

important philosophical arguments, but it is often the case that these books

outline only a single argument or a string of related arguments. Encyclopedias

of philosophy are great for limited descriptions of philosophers and concepts,

but there is a need for reference tools that offer specifi c arguments.

In the end, these secondary sources often bury the argument in commentary

and analysis and do not lend themselves to concise and effi cient referencing.

It can take just as long to fi nd an argument in the analysis as it would to

go to the original text. This volume acts as a compact and accessible companion

to both sources.

It deserves to be underscored that this volume showcases 100 of the most

important arguments and that this list is not exhaustive or uncontroversial.

This is the fi rst project of its kind. There are not standardized accounts of

arguments that are univocally accepted in the fi eld. Experts in every fi eld

disagree – perhaps even more so in philosophy. Arguments that are valued

now may not be considered to be as equally important in the future. Even

when there is an agreement that an argument is important, it can be far

from clear how the argument goes or what the correct conclusion is.

Authors in this volume have selected representative quotations in support

of their versions of the arguments. The following arguments are not ranked

against each other as more or less important. Aquinas ’ Five Ways should

not be considered more important than other arguments based on the fact

that it comes fi rst. There are many more, important arguments that are not

included here, and we hope to provide these in forthcoming installments.

We have selected arguments that an undergraduate philosophy major

would be likely to encounter, though many of the issues arise in general

education classes outside of philosophy. A majority of the arguments employ

intuitive logical inferences, allowing readers without formal training in logic

to follow the argument. The inference rule used to draw each conclusion is

named to enable the reader to see explicitly the argument ’ s valid structure.

We provide an overview of the inferences in the appendices. There are a

Introduction: Show Me the Arguments 3

few arguments that require a more advanced understanding of logic, and

readers will benefi t from the introduction and commentary that provide the

general strategy.

This volume is divided into six parts: philosophy of religion, metaphysics,

epistemology, ethics, philosophy of mind, and philosophies of science

and language. There are more branches of philosophy than there are sections

in the volume, and there are other important arguments within the

given domains than those presented here. It is common that arguments in

one area are also important and infl uence arguments in another. Many

arguments could have been included in multiple sections. These divisions

are provisional, and arguments will reference related arguments in the book,

signaled by “ # ” and then the number of the argument. The bibliographic

information in each article will also be instructive for further reading. The

following are introductions to the arguments in the form of the questions

that they address. In other words, we provide the questions that would

naturally lead one to the argument. For example, “ Is change real (#14)? ”

directs readers to the article “ Parmenides ’ Refutation of Change, ” argument

#14.

Philosophy of Religion

What were Aquinas ’ “ Five Ways ” to prove the existence of God (#1)? Must

there be at least one self - existent being that explains why there is something

rather than nothing (#2)? If something begins to exist, then does it have a

cause (#3)? If God is something than which nothing greater can be thought,