Socrates Meets Descartes: The Father of Philosophy Analyzes the Father of Modern Philosophy’s Discourse on Method
Product Description
This is the 5th volume in the series of popular, small volumes by the well-known philosophy professor and prolific author, Peter Kreeft, in which the “Father of Philosophy”, Socrates, cross-examines various other important philosophers and thinkers (in previous books he examined Marx, Sarte, Machiavelli, and Socrates himself.)
In this work, Kreeft states that Socrates and Descartes are perhaps the two most important philosophers who have ever lived, because they are the two who made the most difference to all philosophy after them. These two fathers of philosophy stand at the beginning of the two basic philosophical options: the classical and the modern.
Kreeft focuses on seven features that unite these two major philosophers and distinguish them from all others. So this dialog between Socrates and Descartes is a dialog between the fundamental stages in the history of philosophy, the history of consciousness, and the history of Western culture.
Like his other works in this popular series, this book is profound and witty reading that makes for an entertaining and insightful exploration of modern philosophy. It will appeal to both the common reader as well as to those more philosophically inclined.
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- The Modern Catholic Encyclopedia (Michael Glazier Books)
- Artificial Nutrition and Hydration: The New Catholic Debate (Philosophy and Medicine / Catholic Studies in Bioethics)
- Modern Catholic Social Teaching: Commentaries And Interpretations
Kreeft’s latest entry in his Socrates Meets … series got my hopes up. For better or worse, the way 21st Century westerners look at the world is very much the product of Descartes’ philosophy.
And that makes it unfortunate that, every time a critical topic is broached, it gets sidelined after a few paragraphs with an admonition to the interested reader to pursue it further–with no suggestions for further reading given anywhere in the book. (Sort of. Kreeft does mention Pascal’s Pensées several times, including the very end of the book. The Pensées present an alternative viewpoint, but Pascal does not present counter-arguments in direct response to Descartes’ claims.)
On the bright side, Kreeft is far more sympathetic to Descartes than he was to any of the other philosophers in the series (Marx, Machiavelli, Sartre), leading to a much less abrasive tone to the book. Perhaps it is this very sympathy that leads him to venture into deeper waters, only to back out just when the topic gets interesting.
I’d be very interested to see a longer treatment from Dr. Kreeft. As it is, the book isn’t a waste of time, but it could have been so much more. At the very least, it cries out for a “suggestions for further reading” section.