D. Z. Phillips

Ludwig Wittgenstein established a "cool" stance for philosophy: contemplating the world without meddling in it. D.Z. Phillips explores this position, focusing on its implications for philosophical authorship and the philosophical investigation of the nature of reality. Influenced by the views of Wittgenstein and his pupil Rush Rhees, Phillips - who is one of Rhees's own students - first contrasts Wittgenstein's methods with Kierkegaard's religiously oriented dialectic. He describes the difficulty in sustaining a contemplative view of philosophy and discusses efforts to go beyond it in the work of Richard Rorty, Stanley Cavell, Annette Baier, and Martha Nussbaum, who, in different ways, propose to make philosophy a guide to living.

Written specifically for beginning undergraduates who have little or no previous knowledge of the subject, this is a distinctive and thoughtful introduction to the main problems of philosophy, structured around a philosophical argument which is clearly and carefully developed throughout the book. This argument takes the form of a sustained response to the challenge of scepticism, and deals with this challenge in a coherent and unified manner. In this way, not only does the reader begin to understand philosophy itself, but also how a philosophical mind works. The text explores forms of the sceptical challenge in connection with our knowledge of the external world: the self and other beings, moral obligation, political obligation, aesthetic values, and the existence of God. Throughout, the author engages his readers in thought and discussion through his lively and refreshing style, and encourages them to embark on their own philosophical reflections.