Doing Philosophy inspires active learning and helps students become more accomplished critical thinkers by encouraging them to reflect on philosophical theories and the thought experiments used to test them. The book traces the historical development of philosophical thinking on several central problems, and shows how the solutions offered to these problems inform current thinking on many social, political, and religious issues. By introducing students to philosophical theorizing and encouraging them to formulate their own views, Doing Philosophy fosters creative as well as critical thinking and generates an appreciation for the importance of philosophical inquiry. Instructors can customize Doing Philosophy (as a print or ebook) to include selections from Discourses, McGraw Hill's collection of more than 450 classical and contemporary philosophy readings, offering the convenience of discussing philosophical questions with the exemplars an instructor prefers.