Introduction

This chapter introduces the book and briefly outlines its purpose. Part 1 explains what Charles Taylor means by the term naturalism and why he opposes it. Part 2 provides an outline of each of the six chapters to follow. Part 3 points to the difficulties of drawing neat boundaries around the parts of Taylor’s thought and to some of its other features that productively complicate straightforward classifications. Part 4 highlights some of the recognition of Taylor’s work since the first edition of this book and touches on some of the secondary literature that his work has inspired.