This volume is written with an awareness of the great differences - in cultural traditions, history, and conditions - among the different regions and countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The authors focus on certain specific commonalities that are understandable only within a larger, global context. They explore such issues as the role of ideology, past and present; conversions , real or apparent, of intellectuals; the place of philosophers in politics; the relationship between democratic slogans and everyday realities; and special concerns of women. The work explores the significance of the changes in Eastern Europe that began in 1989, and offers two alternative perspectives about them. It challenges philosophers to look for deeper understandings and explanations of these momentous events that are called for in purely strategic, political accounts.