AN INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY by Daniel J. Sullivan is intended for the general reader as well as for the student. Its primary purpose is to present the elements of philosophy with simplicity and clarity in order to arouse that sense of wonder which Aristotle says is the beginning of the love of wisdom.

This well-structured overview begins with an historical study of philosophy, tracing the evolution of philosophical problems from their simplest origins, and continues with an analysis of the more concrete problems about man himself. The more abstract problems of man and his relation to the world around him make up the final study of this book.

Sullivan works in the great classical, realist tradition of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, and their modern-day inheritors, exposing the perennially valid and vital principles of philosophy and emphasizing the profound moral and social implications of these principles. He respects the distinction between natural and revealed wisdom, but does not hesitate to point out how the conclusions of philosophy are complemented by the truths of revelation.

AN INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY clearly demonstrates that philosophy is a good deal more than a classroom exercise.

Daniel J. Sullivan intended An Introduction to Philosophy to be used by the general reader as well as the student. A secondary purpose, as mentioned in the foreword, was to smooth the transition from literary imagery to philosophical abstraction. The book was dedicated to Emmanuel C. Chapman and published in 1957 by The Bruce Publishing Company, based in Milwaukee. It received the Nihil Obstat as well as the Imprimatur and was reprinted in 1992 and again in 2009.