Philosophy Bites

What does Anthony Grayling think about atheism? Adrian Moore about infinity? For the last three years, some of the world's leading philosophers have held forth on their favorite topics on the immensely popular website philosophybites.com. The site now features more than one hundred short conversations, has had some 7 million downloads to date, and is listened to all over the globe.

Philosophy Bites brings together the twenty-five best interviews from this hugely successful website. Leading philosophers--including Simon Blackburn, Alain de Botton, Will Kymlicka, Alexander Nehamas, and more than twenty others--discuss a wide range of philosophical issues in a surprisingly lively, informal, and personal way. For instance, Peter Singer, arguably the world's leading animal rights philosopher, states that for people living in the western world, vegetarianism is the only moral choice, but he allows that this would not be the case for an Inuit who lives by killing fish--causing an animal to suffer must be balanced against the necessity to survive. Julian Savulescu talks about the "yuk factor"--the natural revulsion that keeps us from practicing incest or cannibalism--attacking its use as an argument against gay rights and abortion. Anthony Appiah discusses cosmopolitanism, the idea that emphasizes that people around the world have much in common, and that we have to be able to live with people despite our differences. And Stephen Law shows why it is unreasonable to believe in an all-powerful, all-good deity.

Time, infinity, evil, friendship, animals, wine, sport, tragedy--all of human life is here. And as these bite-sized interviews reveal, often the most brilliant philosophers are eager and able to convey their thoughts, simply and clearly, on the great ideas of philosophy.

David Edmonds is a documentary maker for the BBC World Service. He is the author or co-author of several books, including the international bestseller Wittgenstein's Poker, written with John Eidinow (short-listed for the Guardian First Book Award, translated into twenty five languages), Bobby Fischer Goes to War, and Rousseau's Dog.

Nigel Warburton is a freelance philosopher, podcaster, and writer. His books include A Little History of Philosophy, Philosophy: the Basics, Thinking from A to Z, Philosophy: the Classics, The Art Question, and Free Speech: A Very Short Introduction.

Introduction
What is Philosophy? by David Edmonds and Nigel Warburton

ETHICS
Chapter 1: Julian Savulescu on 'Yuk!'
Chapter 2: Simon Blackburn on Moral Relativism
Chapter 3: Peter Singer on Animals
Chapter 4: Michael Sandel on Genetic Enhancement in Sport
Chapter 5: Alexander Nehamas on Friendship

POLITICS
Chapter 6: Anthony Appiah on Cosmopolitanism
Chapter 7: Miranda Fricker on Credibility and Discrimination
Chapter 8: Anne Phillips on Multiculturalism
Chapter 9: Will Kymlicka on Minority Rights
Chapter 10: Wendy Brown on Tolerance

METAPHYSICS AND MIND
Chapter 11: Adrian Moore on Infinity
Chapter 12: David Papineau on Scientific Realism
Chapter 13: Barry Stroud on Scepticism
Chapter 14: Hugh Mellor on Time
Chapter 15: Tim Crane on Mind and Body
Chapter 16: Tim Williamson on Vagueness

AESTHETICS
Chapter 17: Derek Matravers on the Definition of Art
Chapter 18: Alain de Botton on the Aesthetics of Architecture
Chapter 19: Barry C. Smith on Wine
Chapter 20: Alex Neill on the Paradox of Tragedy

GOD, ATHEISM AND THE MEANING OF LIFE
Chapter 21: Don Cupitt on Non-Realism About God
Chapter 22: John Cottingham on The Meaning of Life
Chapter 23: Stephen Law on The Problem of Evil
Chapter 24: Keith Ward on Eastern and Western Idealism
Chapter 25: Anthony Grayling on Atheism

Further Reading
Notes on Contributors
Index