Joseph Margolis is an extremely rare kind of author - a renowned, world-class philosopher who is prepared to write accessibly for the non-specialist reader. Here Margolis introduces the reader to all of the central questions of Western philosophy, showing not only philosophical arguments progress but also how the most fundamental questions relate to each other. This lucid introduction enables the reader to experience a first-rate philosophical intelligence at work.

I have tried to keep the issues clean and bare and to presuppose as little as possible in addressing the attentive reader. My intention is to attract readers, either in agreement or disagreement, either amateurs or professionals, to attend to the issues without the sort of scholarly paraphernalia that positively obscures arguments - Joseph Margolis