This historically organized introductory text, which begins with Hesiod and goes up to Derrida and Quine, presents philosophy as an ongoing conversation about humankind's deepest and most persistent concerns. The Great Conversation traces the exchange of ideas between history's key philosophers, demonstrating that while constructing an argument or making a claim, one philosopher almost always has others in mind. The book is also available in two volumes: Volume I covers Hesiod through Descartes (Chapters 1-13); Volume II includes "Moving from Medieval to Modern" (Chapter 12), and coverage of Descartes through Derrida and Quine (Chapters 13-25).