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Preface The title of this book is an allusion to A. ]. Ayer's The Problem of Knowledge, fi rst published in 1956. I studied with Ayer back in the 1960s, so the allusion is in part a gesture of respect towards a teacher of whom I retain fond memories. But that is not its sole point. I also regard Ayer' s book as a model of a certain kind of philosophical writing. Ayer's book is meant to appeal to a wide range of readers. It of f ers a general account of the aims and methods of philosophical theorizing about human knowledge, designed to be accessible to the beginning undergraduate or curi­ous non-specialist. At the same time, it is not a textbook. On the contrary, Ayer always discusses problems in a way that allows him to develop his own distinctive line, with the result that his arguments are interesting to specialists as well as beginners. This is what I have tried to do too. For those acquainted with my work, this book combines the Sellarsian themes of Groundless Belief with the diagnostic ideas and contextualist approach to knowledge developed in Unnatural Doubts. Does it still make sense to attempt what Ayer attempted? Some philo­sophers will argue that, since Ayer' s day, philosophy has become too technic­ally developed for serious philosophical ideas to be made accessible to the average reader. While I do not deny the value of technical work, I am not so pessimistic. I think that philosophical ideas are important, so that they ought to circulate outside narrowly professional circles; and I think that they can be made to do so, if not in full rigorous detail, then at least not in hopelessly garbled form. Anyway, for good or ill, I have tried to follow Ayer's lead. Whether I have succeeded is for others to judge. Baltimore MD November 2000 Williams, Michael (2001) Problems of knowledge: a critical introduction to epistemology. Oxford University Press.