Philosophical InquiriesAn Introduction to Problems of Philosophy\nAuthor(s): Nicholas Rescher\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: University of Pittsburgh Press, United States\nImprint: University of Pittsburgh Press\nISBN-13: 9780822960751, 978-0822960751\nSynopsis\nIn Philosophical Inquiries, Nicholas Rescher offers his perspectives on many of the foundational concerns of philosophy and reminds us that the purpose of philosophy is to u201cquestion the questions.u201d Rescher sees the need to inquire as an evolutionary tool for adapting to a hostile environment and shows how philosophy has thus developed in an evolutionary fashion, building upon acquired knowledge and upon itself. In a historical thread that informs and enriches his overview, Rescher recalls the contributions of Aristotle, Plato, Plotinus, Kant, Hegel, Leibniz, Laplace, Bertrand Russell, and others.\n\nAmong his many topics, Rescher discusses knowledge and the unattainablity of absolutes, skepticism and its self-defeatin.