This excellent introduction to the essential issues that have preoccupied philosophers throughout the centuries provides fresh and engaging portraits of the greatest thinkers on three perennial questions:What can I know? What may I hope? What ought I to do? The author summarizes the thoughts ofPlato and Wittgenstein on the possibility of philosophical knowledge; Kant and Nietzsche on the existence of God; Aristotle and Heidegger on human virtue. The first member of the pair is a builder, the second a destroyer. One explores the promise of a theory, the other the consequences of its ruin. These juxtaposed pairs are not self-contained, however. All six thinkers are engaged in a dialogue with one another on issues that touch our lives directly and profoundly. The author has arranged them in an order that unveils an ever-deepening understanding of the moral, spiritual and intellectual space in which our lives unfold. For anyone wishing to discover, or rediscover, philosophy in its original meaning-"the love of wisdom"-this engaging, clearly written, and accessible volume is an excellent place to start.
