This brief and engaging introductory text treats philosophy as a dramatic and continuous story--a conversation about humankind's deepest and most persistent concerns, in which students are encouraged to participate. Tracing the exchange of ideas between history's key philosophers,Philosophical Conversations: A Concise Historical Introduction demonstrates that while constructing an argument or making a claim, one philosopher almost always has others in mind. The book addresses the fundamental questions of human life: Who are we? What can we know? How should we live? and Whatsort of reality do we inhabit? Throughout, author Norman Melchert provides a generous selection of excerpts from major philosophical works and makes them more easily understandable with his lucid explanations. Extensive cross-references highlight the organizing themes and show students howphilosophers have responded to each other's arguments.A more concise edition of Norman Melchert's The Great Conversation: A Historical Introduction to Philosophy, Fifth Edition, Philosophical Conversations is designed to be especially accessible and visually attractive to first- and second-year college students in introduction to philosophy courses.Enhanced by numerous pedagogical features, it offers:* Shorter and/or simplified presentations of much of the material* A second color that enlivens the text and makes it more visually interesting* An expanded art program featuring more than 100 photographs, illustrations, and cartoons* Classic art at the opening of each chapter* Numerous brief quotations from poets, politicians, and thinkers that underscore philosophical points and stimulate thought* Explanatory footnotes and basic study questions throughout* "Questions for Further Thought" at the end of each chapter* Key terms, boldfaced at their first appearance and collected at the end of each chapter and in a detailed glossary at the back of the book* "Sketches"--which provide glimpses of the ideas of various philosophers not already discussed in detail in the narrative--and "Profiles," which offer more in-depth looks at several thinkers, philosophical schools, and movements including Taoism, Zen, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Iris Murdoch