Thought experiments are tools philosophers and scientists use to investigate how things are, without actually having to go out and experiment in the real world. This book presents forty-two philosophical thought experiments. Each thought experiment is illustrated by De Cruz (who is an illustrator as well as a philosopher), and is summarized in one or two paragraphs, which is followed by a brief exploration of its significance. Each thought experiment also includes a longer (approximately 2-page) reflection, written by a philosopher who is a specialist in the field. De Cruz's unique illustrations serve as visual and accessible starting points for classroom discussions in Intro to Philosophy courses.

Philosophy Illustrated

Politics & Social Sciences

De Cruz, Helen

Philosophy

Oxford University Press

An examination of the cognitive foundations of intuitions about the existence and attributes of God. Questions about the existence and attributes of God form the subject matter of natural theology, which seeks to gain knowledge of the divine by relying on reason and experience of the world. Arguments in natural theology rely largely on intuitions and inferences that seem natural to us, occurring spontaneously--at the sight of a beautiful landscape, perhaps, or in wonderment at the complexity of the cosmos--even to a nonphilosopher. In this book, Helen De Cruz and Johan De Smedt examine the cognitive origins of arguments in natural theology. They find that although natural theological arguments can be very sophisticated, they are rooted in everyday intuitions about purpose, causation, agency, and morality. Using evidence and theories from disciplines including the cognitive science of religion, evolutionary ethics, evolutionary aesthetics, and the cognitive science of testimony, they show that these intuitions emerge early in development and are a stable part of human cognition. De Cruz and De Smedt analyze the cognitive underpinnings of five well-known arguments for the existence of God: the argument from design, the cosmological argument, the moral argument, the argument from beauty, and the argument from miracles. Finally, they consider whether the cognitive origins of these natural theological arguments should affect their rationality.

A Natural History of Natural Theology: The Cognitive Science of Theology and Philosophy of Religion

De Smedt, Johan

MIT Press]

A philosopher explores the transformative role of wonder and awe in an uncertain world Wonder and awe lie at the heart of life's most profound questions. Wonderstruck shows how these emotions respond to our fundamental need to make sense of ourselves and everything around us, and how they enable us to engage with the world as if we are experiencing it for the first time. Drawing on the latest psychological insights on emotions, Helen De Cruz argues that wonder and awe are emotional drives that motivate us to inquire and discover new things, and that humanity has deliberately nurtured these emotions in cultural domains such as religion, science, and magic. Tracing how wonder and awe unify philosophy, the humanities, and the sciences, De Cruz provides new perspectives on figures such as Plato, Aristotle, Adam Smith, William James, Rachel Carson, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Abraham Heschel. Along the way, she explains how these singular emotions empower us to be open-minded, to experience joy and hope, and to be resilient in the face of personal troubles and global challenges. Taking inspiration from Descartes's portrayal of wonder as "that sudden surprise of the soul," this illuminating book reveals how wonder and awe are catalysts that can help us reclaim what makes life worth living and preserve the things we find wonderful and valuable in our lives.

Wonderstruck: How Wonder and Awe Shape the Way We Think

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Mental Health

Princeton University Press

This Element examines what we can learn from religious disagreement, focusing on disagreement with possible selves and former selves, the epistemic significance of religious agreement, the problem of disagreements between religious experts, and the significance of philosophy of religion. Helen De Cruz shows how religious beliefs of others constitute significant higher-order evidence. At the same time, she advises that we should not necessarily become agnostic about all religious matters, because our cognitive background colors the way we evaluate evidence. This allows us to maintain religious beliefs in many cases, while nevertheless taking the religious beliefs of others seriously.

Religious Disagreement (Elements in the Philosophy of Religion)

Religion & Spirituality

Religious Studies

Cambridge University Press

Fractured Fairytale: A classical fairy tale that adds a twist, changes characters, or makes it more modern 
Come step through the mirror into a world of fairytales turned upside down, where dancing princess fall in love with goblin kings and disabled princesses don't need to be rescued from tall towers. 
Join fourteen authors as they explore fairytales from around the world, altering our expectations of stories we thought we knew so well. Each tale is a reimagined version of beloved stories, updating them for the modern reader and urging us to think outside of the box. 
What will you find when you step through the looking glass?\nContributions by 
“The Turtle on the Lily-pad” by Sonia Focke 
“These Moonlit Tears” by Toni Mobley 
“The Tender Strokes of Music” by Helen De Cruz 
“The Princess from the Caves” by Jennifer Jeanne McArdle 
“Eli and the Golden Caves” by Cliff Jones Jr. 
“Insomnia Ate My Soul” by Lucy Zhang 
“Vasilisa and the Night Witches” by Laurel Beckley 
“The Price of Victory” by David Costa 
“Gilded Goose Feathers” by Betsie Flynn 
“This Marble Tower” by Toni Mobley 
“Gravity” by Claire Olivia Golden 
“The Glass Slipper” by Doug Rooney 
“Nocturne” by Emily Barnett Kudeviz 
“Twelve Dancing Princes” by Jenny McClay 
“Hunger” by Sarah Dropek

Mirror, Mirror: A Compendium of Fractured Fairytales

Literature & Fiction

Kudeviz, Emily Barnett

Jones Jr., Cliff

Focke, Sonia

Mobley, Toni

McArdle, Jennifer Jeanne

Zhang, Lucy

Beckley, Laurel

COSTA, DAVID

Short Stories & Anthologies

Fractured Mirror Publishing

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Books by De Cruz, Helen