In a sped-up world, the virtues of

introspection, reflection, and contemplation are sometimes discarded. As we rush to

get to the "bottom line" on the numerous topics that we confront in the news

and in our daily lives we can lose sight of the big picture as we narrow our

focus on the seemingly most relevant details. The result is a world awash in

rash judgements, harsh, but empty sound bytes, and self-fulfilling prophecies

where the answers are had before the questions are even posed.

This book is my reaction to such a world. It is an attempt to

inject more thoughtfulness into the great debates of our time and of the past.

However, my solution, at least in this book, is not to delineate my

answers to the philosophical problems of our world but to revel in the questions

themselves. To explore the many dimensions of the questions in order to

gain deeper understanding of the issues in hopes of finding a middle

ground between the distant poles involved in the debate. This book is in no

way an end to the conflict...it is, hopefully, the beginning of a great

discussion.