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Humanities LibreTexts

Front Matter

  • Page ID
    385565
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    • TitlePage
    • InfoPage
      This page discusses the LibreTexts project, an open educational resource platform designed to facilitate collaboration among students, faculty, and scholars by offering freely accessible and editable educational materials. Its mission is to alleviate financial burdens associated with traditional resources and promote equitable access to education. Users can modify and print content under specific licenses.
    • Table of Contents
    • Licensing
      This page outlines the resource's licensing terms and directs readers to the "Back Matter/Detailed Licensing" section for comprehensive details on conditions and permissions associated with usage.
    • What is an Open Textbook
      This page discusses open textbooks, which are freely available online and can be reused under a Creative Commons Attribution license. They offer significant savings for students and can be customized for specific teaching contexts. Unlike commercial digital textbooks, open textbooks allow unlimited access, buying and selling of copies, and various interaction formats, avoiding the limitations of time restrictions and note retention found in commercial options.
    • How to Access and Use the Book
      This page discusses the "Introduction to Philosophy" series designed for introductory courses, emphasizing its customizable format for instructors. It outlines available downloadable formats such as .odt, PDF, EPUB, MOBI, and Common Cartridge, allowing for material adaptation. The page invites student involvement in content creation and encourages feedback via the Rebus Community platform for enhancements and suggestions.
    • Introduction to the Series
      This page summarizes the "Introduction to Philosophy" open textbook series for post-secondary students, highlighting its accessibility, collaborative authorship, and focus on key philosophical debates. It aims to address common student challenges while avoiding jargon, allows for customization by instructors, and seeks to reduce costs for students, promoting an inclusive learning environment.
    • Praise for the Book
      This page summarizes George Matthews' anthology on Western philosophy, highlighting its accessible approach to foundational questions. It targets undergraduates and educators, promoting thoughtful engagement with ethical topics like relativism and feminist ethics through relatable examples.
    • Acknowledgements
      This page features acknowledgments from George Matthews and Christina Hendricks, expressing gratitude for the collaborative effort in creating an open-access Introduction to Philosophy textbook. They thank authors, peer reviewers, and individuals from the Rebus Community, highlighting the important roles of project manager Apurva Ashok and book cover designer Jonathan Lashley, emphasizing the significance of community in educational publishing.
    • Introduction to the Book
      This page explores moral philosophy and the nature of ethics, highlighting three approaches: descriptive ethics, normative ethics, and meta-ethics. It prepares readers for future discussions on topics such as cultural relativism, religious influences, virtue ethics, self-interest, utilitarianism, deontological ethics, feminist ethics, and the biology-ethics relationship.

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