Introduction: Through the Looking Glass

Abstract

What makes a philosophical system interesting? After all is said and done, the answer seems quite simple and perhaps even trivial: it survives. Survival in this context, however, involves becoming an integral part of the dialectical interchange that constitutes the history of philosophy. Such a system is one you can’t ignore. It has become a permanent part of the dialogue. It may do so, for example, by raising a problem that seemingly defies solution, as with Hume and the problem of induction. Or the manner of presentation, the style, if you will, may direct our attention not only to a range of issues but also to the attempts to deal with them. In these latter cases, no matter which way you turn that particular perception of the situation forces you to take note of issues you otherwise wouldn’t. To construct such a system requires a rare talent. It not only requires fluency in the contemporary idiom and a thorough familiarity with the history of the associated problems, but needs some means by which to forge the varied and often conflicting dimensions into a unified piece. Equally important is the ability of the system to withstand attacks without collapsing into tautologies or retreating behind idiosyncratic jargon and still retain enough vitality to demand attention.