Stories of Philosophy: An Introduction Through Original Fiction and Discussion

Stories of Philosophy provides students with a fun and dramatic introduction to philosophical issues through fiction. It combines short stories written by the author, a philosopher and novelist, with detailed guided discussions to inspire students to think about issues related to logic, appearance and reality, the nature of mind, freedom and responsibility, the existence of God, and morality.

The twelve stories include a futuristic experiment in which scientists try to predict everything that a prisoner will do and think within a library-like prison cell; a comic dialogue between God and Satan, who have trouble figuring out what free will is supposed to be; and a medieval man suffering through a Black Death computer simulation done for homework and a little malicious pleasure by two school children.

The text is enhanced by pedagogical features including "Preview" and "Let's Review" sections, biographical boxes of many of the philosophers discussed, boldfaced key terms and their definitions, questions for discussion, and suggested further readings.