Even within the academy, philosophers are often thought of as a breed unto themselves, grasping and theorizing the world in a highly cerebral manner that can be inscrutable to those outside philosophy. Well-known portrait and landscape photographer Steve Pyke shows that they are also ideal subjects for portraiture, having photographed them for almost 20 years. This volume collects about 100 black and white portraits of contemporary philosophers, photographed in Pyke's distinctive style -- many of them shot very close-up to the subject's face with a narrow depth of field. The effect of this style is unpredictable but always revealing, showing insight into personality but also shedding new light on the philosophical temperament. The facing page of each portrait will contain a brief piece written by the subject on the nature of philosophy and their place in it.

These fascinating portraits -- which include virtually every major philosopher working today in the US, UK, and Europe today, including Anthony Appiah, Robert Brandom, David Chalmers, Noam Chomsky, Jurgen Habermas, Saul Kripke, Tom Nagel, Martha Nussbaum, Peter Singer, and Charles Taylor among others -- will be of great value and interest to both those in the field, those connected to it, and anyone interested in the art of portrait photography.