Philosophy has a bad reputation. It has a reputation for being overly complicated, for being excessively abstract, for being irrelevant to everyday life, and for being inaccessible to anyone without an advanced degree. The truth of the matter is that every complicated philosophical concept grows out of very simple (often quite obvious) principles. Often abstraction is necessary in order that the work done under the banner of philosophy is able to speak to the many varied circumstances and problems it seeks to address. Abstraction is philosophy's tool for being relevant as it is philosophy's abstract principles that we will find at the foundations of many of the institutions we take for granted, if we know where to look. As for accessibility, philosophy is accessible to everyone if they know where to start. What is more, with repetition and practice any person can achieve a deep understanding of the most subtle and complex philosophy. One does not play Mozart the first time one sits at a piano, likewise one should not expect to penetrate something as complex and subtle as Kant's Transcendental Idealism the first time one cracks open a philosophy book.
Gateway to Philosophy is intended to be a starting point. It is, as suggested above, targeted to the first-time or casual reader of philosophy. It offers selections from some of the most influential texts in the Western Philosophical tradition. These selections have been chosen because (a) they express the core ideas of the texts, those ideas that make them so very influential, and (b) because they are reasonably easy to read. That is not to say that the readings found in this collection will be easy. They will, most certainly, challenge their reader. Readers will likely find themselves reading and re-reading passages and looking up various words or concepts as they go along in order to help them understand. And they are encouraged to do so. The objective of Gateway to Philosophy is to provide the most accessible portions from what can be complex and subtle primary sources. These selections have been chosen in the belief that reading and studying these passages is valuable and enlightening in its own right and, further, will serve as excellent training for those interested in pursuing a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the whole of the various texts.
