The best and most instructive way to learn about philosophy is by examining the history of the field. For it is here that we come to see how its particulars are identified and addressed by some of humankindโs sharpest intellects. Philosophy began hundreds of years BCE, and by now has grown to a scope and scale beyond acceptability by any single mind. But a sampling of episodes and issues can convey some idea of the nature of the field. And it is with this goal in viewโclarifying the detail of some key philosophical issuesโthat these studies are being put into print. It is the aim of these forays into philosophical history to illustrate how contemporary perspectives, methods, and instruments of analysis can clarify some of the key philosophical teachings both by highlighting the difficulties they encounter and by providing instructive means for addressing them.