The Reading Warehouse

In an age of conflicting intellectual trends, some philosophers have lost faith in the everyday relevance of philosophy; others have affirmed that reflection is crucial to authentic living. The limelight has been shared by existentialism, phenomenology, structuralism, and other movements. The question remains: what is the next great step in philosophy?

The World of Philosophy series is a dramatic presentation, in understandable language, of the concerns, questions, interests, and overall outlook of the world's great philosophers and philosophical traditions. Special emphasis on clear and relevant explanations gives you a new arsenal of insights toward living a better life.

John Lachs is Centennial Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University. A recipient of the Herbert Schneider Award for Lifetime Contributions to American Philosophy, he is the author of Intermediate Man, In Love with Life, Mind and Philosophers, and A Community of Individuals, among others.

Wendy McElroy has written on women's issues for Reason, Liberty, and the National Review. She is the author of several books on feminism and has worked as a scholar for such think tanks as the Cato Institute. She was a 1997 Mencken Award finalist.

Dr. Edward Casey is the former president of the American Philosophical Association and past chairman of the philosophy department at Stony Brook University. He works in aesthetics, philosophy of space and time, ethics, perception, and psychoanalytic theory. Dr. Casey obtained his doctorate at Northwestern University and has taught at Yale University, the University of California at Santa Barbara, The New School for Social Research, Emory University, and several other institutions. He is currently Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Stony Brook University.