Abstract

Considerable problems face any writer who sets out to write an introduction to Philosophy. Pearl has grasped the nettle firmly and has limited his discussion to the four major topics named in the title. His choice of an order is possibly dictated by his desire to win the interest of his readers: it corresponds to a progression from problems of interest to the man in the street to the problems of perception, which are perhaps more likely to strike the amateur as of little vital importance. In his treatment the author avoids an historical approach; in fact, all the time his main concern is to present arguments clearly and simply, but without falsifying them. The book manages to introduce many of the major types of technique used in modern discussions in an unpretentious but not condescending fashion, and the author succeeds in making his readers sit up and think. Since he endeavours to concentrate attention on arguments current today and does not openly commit himself to a set of conclusions, it would do no service here to attempt to state his philosophical position, beyond indicating that he seems to share the views generally associated with modern linguistic philosophy.