There are several characteristics of Nathan Rotenstreich's work which are striking: his thoughtful writings are both subtle and deep; they are steeped in his critical appreciation of other thinkers of this and preceding times, an appreciation which is formed by his learned understanding of the history of philosophy; and with all this, he has an original and independent intelligence. He has from time to time brought his skills to bear upon historical scholarship, most notably perhaps in his book Between Past and Present (1958, 2nd edition, 1973), his interpretive essays in the philosophy of...

The present book is concerned with the nature of philosophy and with the scope of philosophical interest. It combines an analysis of the major types of philosophical thinking as they emerged in the history of philosophical ideas with an attempt to examine problems which recurrent ly emerge in philosophical discourse. It is from this point of view that the historical and the systematic approaches are meant to be mutually reinforcing. I am grateful to my friends who helped me to formulate the line of thinking expressed in this book: Z. Bar-On, A. Margalit, E. I. I. Poznanski, Z. Werblovsky and...