Social work today is a widely differentiated structure of institutionalized support services in the social field. The hypothesis at the basis of this book is that underlying social work, there is a complex of reasons why and in relation to what goals people are to be helped & the philosophy of social work. The reconstruction of that philosophy presented in this book offers not a homogeneous theoretical construct, but rather a nuanced theoretical landscape. However, this has the common feature that it promises a ?good life= for everyone, the nature of which is analysed in greater detail here. Those with an interest in social work will be able not only to plunge into the intellectual and historical background of the (late) modern age here, but also to obtain a good overview of important theories of social work down to the present day.