Why Philosophy?

Timely though we believe this book to be, it was not a book for which it was easy to find a publisher. The difficulty seemed unrelated to any question of the quality of the material it contained, but almost purely a matter of publishers’ uncertainty as to its potential readership. The book does not address a well-established topic within the philosophical curriculum – either of teaching or research – and although intended to be accessible to a general audience, publishers seemed unconvinced (and unable to be convinced) that there was an audience with an interest in the question of philosophy’s significance or relevance.