Explores John J McDermott's singular interpretations of the questions of our shared existence. This work discusses questions such as: How are we to understand the nature of American culture and to carry forward its important contributions? What does the deliberate pursuit of a morality offer us? What are the possibilities for community?

The philosopher John J. McDermott comes out of the long and rich American tradition that takes the aim of philosophical inquiry to be interpretation of the open meanings of experience, so that we might all live fuller and richer lives. Here, leading philosophers explore McDermott's singular interpretations of the questions of our shared existence. How are we to understand the nature of American culture and to carry forward its important contributions? What is the personal importance of embodiment, of living in the realization of death? How does our physical and personal environment nourish our bodies and spirits? What does the deliberate pursuit of a morality offer us? How do we educate those who follow us to use our shared past to address civic and spiritual problems? What are the possibilities for community? In an Afterword, McDermott responds to the contributors and offers a restatement of his understanding of the American philosopher's task.