Introduction to Philosophy: Ethics

Short Description: We often make judgments about good and bad, right and wrong. Philosophical ethics is the critical examination of these and other concepts central to how we evaluate our own and each others' behavior and choices. This text examines some of the main threads of discussion on these topics that have developed over the last couple of millenia, mostly within the Western cultural tradition. Cover art by Heather Salazar; cover design by Jonathan Lashley. Join the conversation about this and the other books in the Introduction to Philosophy textbook series. Long Description: We often make judgments about good and bad, right and wrong. Philosophical ethics is the critical examination of these and other concepts central to how we evaluate our own and each others’ behavior and choices. This text examines some of the main threads of discussion on these topics that have developed over the last couple of millenia, mostly within the Western cultural tradition. It considers basic questions about moral and ethical judgment: Is there such a thing as something that is really right or really wrong independent of time, place and perspective? What is the relationship between religion and ethics? How can we reconcile self-interest and ethics? Is it ever acceptable to harm one person in order to help others? What do recent discussions in evolutionary biology or have to say about human moral systems? What is the relation between gender and ethics? The authors invite you to participate in their exploration of these and many other questions in philosophical ethics. If you are adopting or adapting this book for a course, please let us know on our adoption form for the Introduction to Philosophy open textbook series. Word Count: 46922 ISBN: 978-1-989014-08-0 (Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

Material Type: Textbook

Authors: Christina Hendricks (Series Editor), Douglas Giles, Frank Aragbonfoh Abumere, George Matthews (Book Editor), Jeffrey Morgan, Joseph Kranak, Kathryn MacKay, Michael Klenk, Paul Rezkalla, Ya-Yun (Sherry) Kao

Introduction to Philosophy: Philosophy of Mind

Short Description: Introduction to Philosophy: Philosophy of Mind surveys the central themes in philosophy of mind and places them in a historical and contemporary context intended to engage first-time readers in the field. It focuses on debates about the status and character of the mind and its seemingly subjective nature in an apparently more objective world. Cover art by Heather Salazar; cover design by Jonathan Lashley. Join the conversation about this and the other books in the Introduction to Philosophy textbook series. Long Description: Introduction to Philosophy: Philosophy of Mind (edited by Heather Salazar) surveys the central themes in philosophy of mind and places them in a historical and contemporary context intended to engage first-time readers in the field. It focuses on debates about the status and character of the mind and its seemingly subjective nature in an apparently more objective world. Written by experts and emerging researchers in their subject areas, each chapter brings clarity to complex material and involves the reader through a wealth of examples. Many chapters include applications of the concepts to film and literature that will stimulate readers to firmly grasp the significance of the philosophy of mind. Subjects covered are how the mind fits into the material world and how to analyze its properties. In that vein, substance dualism, materialism, behaviorism, functionalism, and property dualism are all explored. In addition, it includes insightful contributions on how to explain seemingly subjective feelings, the mystery of consciousness, conceptual understanding of the world outside of the mind, and free will. The book is designed to be used alone or alongside a reader of historical and contemporary original sources. If you are adopting or adapting this book for a course, please let us know on our adoption form for the Introduction to Philosophy open textbook series. Cover art by Heather Salazer; cover design by Jonathan Lashley. Word Count: 39159 ISBN: 978-1-989014-07-3 (Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

Material Type: Textbook

Authors: Christina Hendricks, Daniel Haas, Elly Vintiadis, Eran Asoulin, Heather Salazar, Henry Shevlin, Jason Newman, Paul Richard Blum, Tony Cheng

College Physics - 2e

This introductory, algebra-based, two-semester college physics book is grounded with real-world examples, illustrations, and explanations to help students grasp key, fundamental physics concepts. This online, fully editable and customizable title includes learning objectives, concept questions, links to labs and simulations, and ample practice opportunities to solve traditional physics application problems.

Material Type: Textbook

Authors: Kim Dirks, Manjula Sharma, Paul Peter Urone, Roger Hinrichs

Motion Mountain: The Free Physics Textbook

This site provides a free physics textbook that tells the story of how it became possible, after 2500 years of exploration, to answer such questions. The book is written for the curious: it is entertaining, surprising and challenging on every page. With little mathematics, starting from observations of everyday life, the text explores the most fascinating parts of mechanics, thermodynamics, special and general relativity, electrodynamics, quantum theory and modern attempts at unification. The essence of these fields is summarized in the most simple terms. For example, the text presents modern physics as consequence of the notions of minimum entropy, maximum speed, maximum force, minimum change of charge and minimum action.

Material Type: Textbook

Author: Christoph Schiller

Simple Nature

This is a calculus-based physics textbook meant for the type of freshman survey course taken by engineering and physical science majors, or for AP Physics C. It uses a nontraditional order of topics, with energy coming before force. For instructors who prefer the traditional sequence, there is a drop-in replacement for ch. 0-4, Mechanics, that covers force before energy. My text for the type of course usually taken by biology majors is Light and Matter.

Material Type: Textbook

Author: Benjamin Crowell, Fullerton College

University Physics I: Classical Mechanics

This is a “minimalist” textbook for a first semester of university, calculus-based physics, covering classical mechanics (including one chapter on mechanical waves, but excluding fluids), plus a brief introduction to thermodynamics. The presentation owes much to Mazur’s The Principles and Practice of Physics: conservation laws, momentum and energy, are introduced before forces, and one-dimensional setups are thoroughly explored before two-dimensional systems are considered. It contains both problems and worked-out examples.

Material Type: Textbook

Author: Julio Gea-Banacloche

Mechanics and Relativity

In Mechanics and Relativity, the reader is taken on a tour through time and space. Starting from the basic axioms formulated by Newton and Einstein, the theory of motion at both the everyday and the highly relativistic level is developed without the need of prior knowledge. The relevant mathematics is provided in an appendix. The text contains various worked examples and a large number of original problems to help the reader develop an intuition for the physics. Applications covered in the book span a wide range of physical phenomena, including rocket motion, spinning tennis rackets and high-energy particle collisions.

Material Type: Textbook

Author: Timon Idema

American Government and Politics in the Information Age

This text is a comprehensive introduction to the vital subject of American government and politics. Governments decide who gets what, when, how (See Harold D. Lasswell, Politics: Who Gets What, When, How, [New York: McGraw-Hill, 1936]); they make policies and pass laws that are binding on all a society’s members; they decide about taxation and spending, benefits and costs, even life and death.Governments possess power—the ability to gain compliance and to get people under their jurisdiction to obey them—and they may exercise their power by using the police and military to enforce their decisions. However, power need not involve the exercise of force or compulsion; people often obey because they think it is in their interest to do so, they have no reason to disobey, or they fear punishment. Above all, people obey their government because it has authority; its power is seen by people as rightfully held, as legitimate. People can grant their government legitimacy because they have been socialized to do so; because there are processes, such as elections, that enable them to choose and change their rulers; and because they believe that their governing institutions operate justly.Politics is the process by which leaders are selected and policy decisions are made and executed. It involves people and groups, both inside and outside of government, engaged in deliberation and debate, disagreement and conflict, cooperation and consensus, and power struggles.In covering American government and politics, this text introduces the intricacies of the Constitution, the complexities of federalism, the meanings of civil liberties, and the conflicts over civil rights;explains how people are socialized to politics, acquire and express opinions, and participate in political life; describes interest groups, political parties, and elections—the intermediaries that link people to government and politics; details the branches of government and how they operate; and shows how policies are made and affect people’s lives.

Material Type: Textbook

Authors: David L. Paletz, Diana Owen, Timothy E. Cook

American Government 3e

American Government is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of the single-semester American government course. This title includes innovative features designed to enhance student learning, including Insider Perspective features and a Get Connected Module that shows students how they can get engaged in the political process. The book provides an important opportunity for students to learn the core concepts of American government and understand how those concepts apply to their lives and the world around them. American Government includes updated information on the 2016 presidential election.

Material Type: Textbook

Authors: Glen Krutz, Sylvie Waskiewicz

Introduction to Politics

This survey course can be used by students who are looking to take just one general overview course or by those who want to go on to more advanced study in any of the subfields that comprise the political science discipline, such as American politics, comparative politics, international politics, or political theory. The goal of this course is to introduce the student to the discipline's concepts, terminology, and methods and to explore instances of applied political science through real world examples. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: Describe and evaluate the concepts of power, legitimacy, and authority; Discuss the origins and developments of the nation-state; Distinguish between traditional and behavioral approaches to the study of politics; Discuss general approaches to the study of politics, such as political philosophy, political systems theory, and political economy; Describe and discuss the political socialization process; Examine the nature of political participation from a comparative perspective; Discuss the nature of public opinion from a comparative perspective; Identify the different types of electoral systems and be able to assess the implications of those systems; Identify the role and functions of political parties; Identify the different types of party systems from a comparative perspective; Describe and evaluate the general principles of presidential and parliamentary political systems; Describe and compare the essential features of at least three governments of Western Europe; Identify and evaluate the principles of authoritarian and totalitarian governments; Discuss the concepts of political development and problems facing developing nations; Discuss and explain the origins and principles of democratic capitalism, democratic socialism, Marxist socialism, national socialism, fascism, and third world ideologies; Describe the origins, development, and principles of international law; Identify and assess the influence of major international organizations; Describe and analyze the causes of international conflict; Analyze current critical issues in international relationships. (Political Science 101)

Material Type: Assessment, Full Course, Homework/Assignment, Reading, Syllabus

Answering questions with data: Introductory Statistics for Psychology Students

This is a free textbook teaching introductory statistics for undergraduates in Psychology. This textbook is part of a larger OER course package for teaching undergraduate statistics in Psychology, including this textbook, a lab manual, and a course website. All of the materials are free and copiable, with source code maintained in Github repositories.

Material Type: Textbook

Author: Matthew J.C. Crump

Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive Psychology is a psychological science which is interested in various mind and brain related subfields such as cognition, the mental processes that underlie behavior, reasoning and decision making.

Material Type: Textbook

Psychology, Introduction to Psychology, Contemporary Psychology

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Appreciate the diversity of interests and foci within psychologyUnderstand basic interests and applications in each of the described areas of psychologyDemonstrate familiarity with some of the major concepts or important figures in each of the described areas of psychology

Material Type: Module

Introduction to Psychology

When you teach Introduction to Psychology, do you find it difficult – much harder than teaching classes in statistics or research methods? Do you easily give a lecture on the sympathetic nervous system, a lecture on Piaget, and a lecture on social cognition, but struggle with linking these topics together for the student? Do you feel like you are presenting a laundry list of research findings rather than an integrated set of principles and knowledge? Have you wondered how to ensure your course is relevant to your students? If so, then you have something in common with Charles Stangor.Charles Stangor's Introduction to Psychology utilizes the dual theme of behavior and empiricism to make psychology relevant to intro students.Charles wrote this book to help students organize their thinking about psychology at a conceptual level. Five or ten years from now, he does not expect his students to remember the details of most of what he teaches them. However, he does hope that they will remember that psychology matters because it helps us understand behavior and that our knowledge of psychology is based on empirical study.This book is designed to facilitate these learning outcomes, and he has used three techniques to help focus students on behavior:Chapter Openers: Each chapter opens showcasing an interesting real world example of people who dealing with behavioral questions and who can use psychology to help them answer them. The opener is designed to draw the student into the chapter and create an interesting in learning about the topic.Psychology in Everyday Life: Each chapter contains one or two features designed to link the principles from the chapter to real-world applications in business, environment, health, law, learning, and other relevant domains. For instance, the application in Chapter 7 on Development, “What makes good parents” applies the concepts of parenting styles in a mini-handbook about parenting, and the application in Chapter 3 is about the difficulties that left-handed people face performing everyday tasks in a right-handed world.Research Foci: Introduction to Psychology emphasizes empiricism throughout, but without making it a distraction from the main story line. Each chapter presents two close-ups on research -- well articulated and specific examples of research within the content area, each including a summary of the hypotheses, methods, results, and interpretations. This feature provides a continuous thread that reminds students of the importance of empirical research. The research foci also emphasize the fact that findings are not always predictable ahead of time (dispelling the myth of hindsight bias), and also help students understand how research really works.Charles Stangor's focus on behavior and empiricism has produced, Introduction to Psychology, a text that is better organized, has fewer chapters, and is somewhat shorter than many of the leading books.

Material Type: Textbook

Author: Charles Stangor

Research Methods in Psychology

Research Methods in Psychology is intended to provide a fundamental understanding of the basics of experimental research in the psychological sciences. Research Methods in Psychology adapted by Michael G. Dudley is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Research Methods in Psychology is adapted from a work produced and distributed under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-SA) in 2010 by a publisher who has requested that they and the original author not receive attribution. This adapted edition is based on an adaptation produced by the University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing through the eLearning Support Initiative. This adapted edition was created by Michael G. Dudley with support from the Palomar College Foundation. This adaptation has significantly altered the original 2010 text and removed images. This work is made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

Material Type: Textbook

Author: Michael Dudley

Research Methods in Psychology - 3rd American Edition

This third American edition is a comprehensive textbook for research methods classes. It is an adaptation of the second American edition.

Material Type: Textbook

Authors: Carrie Cuttler, Dana C. Leighton, I-Chant A. Chiang, Paul C. Price, Rajiv S. Jhangiani

Psychology as a Social Science

Provides standard introduction to psychology course content with a specific emphasis on social aspects of psychology. This includes expanded content related to social cognition, aggression, attraction and similar topics.

Material Type: Textbook

Authors: Ed Diener, Robert Biswas-Diener

Together: The Science of Social Psychology

This textbook presents core concepts common to introductory social psychology courses. The 8 units include 27 modules covering key social psych topics such as research methods, group processes, social influence, and relationships. This book can be modified: feel free to add or remove modules to better suit your specific needs. The book includes a comprehensive instructor's manual, PowerPoint presentations, a test bank, reading anticipation guides, and adaptive student quizzes.

Material Type: Textbook

Authors: Allan Rossman, Bertram Malle, Beth Chance, Brad J. Bushman, Cynthia L. Pickett, Dan P. McAdams, David A. Schroeder, David Matsumoto, David M. Buss, Dennis L. Poepsel, Donelson R. Forsyth, Jennifer T. Kubota, Jerry M. Burger, Joel A. Muraco, Leslie Zebrowitz, Matthias R. Mehl, Neil Thin, Rajiv Jhangiani, R. Chris Fraley, Robert Biswas-Diener, Stephen Garcia, Tiffany A. Ito, Yanine D. Hess

Discover Psychology 2.0 - A Brief Introductory Text

This textbook presents core concepts common to introductory courses. The 15 units cover the traditional areas of intro-to-psychology; ranging from biological aspects of psychology to psychological disorders to social psychology. This book can be modified: feel free to add or remove modules to better suit your specific needs. This book includes a comprehensive instructor's manual, PowerPoint presentations, a test bank, reading anticipation guides, and adaptive student quizzes.

Material Type: Textbook

Authors: Cara Laney, David M. Buss, David Watson, Edward Diener, Elizabeth F. Loftus, Emily Hooker, George Loewenstein, Henry L. Roediger III, Jeanne Tsai, Kathleen B. McDermott, Mark E. Bouton, Max H. Bazerman, Richard E. Lucas, Robert Siegler, Robert V. Levine, Ross Thompson, Sarah Pressman, Sudeep Bhatia, Susan T. Fiske, Yoshihisa Kashima

Introduction to Psychology: The Full Noba Collection

This textbook represents the entire catalog of Noba topics. It contains 90 learning modules covering every area of psychology commonly taught in introductory courses. This book can be modified: feel free to rearrange or remove modules to better suit your specific needs.Please note that the publisher requires you to login to access and download the textbooks.

Material Type: Textbook

Authors: Ed Diener, Robert Biswas-Diener