The history of philosophy teaches that the focus of a generation or two can slip into obscurity as new methods and subjects catch attention. So it is impossible to predict which philosophers and books will be read 100, 50, or even 20 years from now. In one way or another, the ideas and writers considered in this chapter signal the end of philosophy via its dissolution into literature, cultural criticism, or empirical science.

But philosophy has endured for over 2,000 years, so news of its death may be premature at this point. It also remains to be seen whether these new strains of thought will themselves become entrenched in ways that are distinctly philosophical according to the old tradition, or whether the old tradition will just sail on grandly, oblivious of current distractions.