ABSTRACT
I have a number of goals for this book, some of which may be more effectively achieved by writing dialogues. First, readers may gain a better feel for philosophy itself. Philosophy is a recognizable and relatively distinctive human activity, across time and culture, yet it’s an oddity of our educational system that most students, at least in America, arrive on campus at our colleges and universities with little or no knowledge of philosophy as an activity. People have asked (and continue to ask) questions and have sought to find reasonable beliefs about what is real, what we can know, and the nature of value. The search for reasonable belief involves seeking the best reasons for belief, so constructing and evaluating arguments are central to philosophy. The dialogue form shows the reader the give and take of philosophical discourse: argument and counterargument, pro and contra, thesis and antithesis. Philosophers raise fundamental questions, clarify meaning, make distinctions, offer arguments, and consider objections to their arguments. The dialogue format can show philosophy in action. And, if Western philosophy is a series of footnotes to Plato, then the precedent for this kind of philosophical writing is well established.
