Philosophy 101 by Socrates: An Introduction to Philosophy

by Peter Kreeft

Book Overview

Philosophy means "the love of wisdom." Kreeft uses the dialogues of Socrates to help the reader grow in that love. He says that no master of the art of philosophizing has ever been more simple, clear,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0898709253
• ISBN13: 9780898709254
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Ignatius Press
• Length: 149 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Excellent philosophy primer and intro to Socrates!

Kreeft's book is an excellent philosophy primer that anyone can enjoy, easily read, and benefit from. As a huge fan of Socrates, I was enthralled with the use of Plato's "Apology", the "Euthyphro", and the "Phaedo" as a teaching tools that will captivate your imagination and search your soul. You can really feel Socrates probing you, making you ask questions of and about yourself, profound questions, that everyone needs to confront and be confronted by. Everyone should apply the Socratic Method to their own life...it will change it forever! This book is an easy read and you should purchase a copy, take it with you everywhere, and read every chance you get. When you finish, READ IT AGAIN!!! Let Socrates teach you that what you think you know, you really don't know. The unexamined life is truly not worth living. Let Socrates examine you and then you too will live life more fully...by asking good questions about everything. Take nothing for granted or on surface value; probe, probe, probe! This book would be a great tool for informal chats re philosophy, psychology, religion, or even just for fun. I highly recommend it...no matter your chosen faith or the lack thereof. But get ready to be challenged!

Yes, Buy It and Read It Passionately

Peter Kreeft transmits his passion for wisdom, for philosophy, in this small book by focusing on the personification of philosophy: Socrates. Kreeft shows us how the pursuit of wisdom will lead to respectful confrontation with those who do not know but think they know. The Socratic method of respectful cross-examination is at the core of exposing the fallacies of those, as someone once said, who are always certain but seldom right. Kreeft also presents the parallels between Socrates and Jesus. You will enjoy and be inspired by this celebration of the passionate pursuit of philosophy.

Introducing philosophy

Peter Kreeft has taught philosophy for over forty years. He is also a Christian. So what does philosophy have to do with Christianity? Or as Tertullian put it long ago, what does Athens have to do with Jerusalem? Well quite a bit really, according to Kreeft. For example, both are, or should be, concerned with truth, or the discovery of truth. Both are concerned about going beyond appearances and getting at reality. Thus Kreeft thinks philosophy, properly understood and practiced, can be a real aid to the believer. This book is an introductory primer to philosophy, or more specifically, to doing philosophy. Kreeft thinks that Plato/Socrates may have been our greatest philosopher, and his works make for an excellent entry point to philosophy. (Kreeft side-steps the historical debate over Socrates, and for his/our purposes, we will simply speak of Socrates.) Three dialogues that exemplify Socrates' method and manner are here focused on: the Apology of Socrates, the Euthyphro, and the Phaedo. Kreeft enjoys using these dialogues as they do not just talk about philosophy but they actually show us philosophy in action. The Apology is the main text focused on. In it Kreeft tells us forty different things about philosophy and the philosophical method. As we all know, philosophy is the love of wisdom. It differs from mere knowledge, and God is its source. While God has wisdom, man pursues it. In this Socrates and biblical religion are on common ground. Moreover, the quest of philosophy is not for truth as found in the physical sciences, but moral and eternal truths, as found in religion. Moral questions, like "What is justice?" cannot be answered by the physical sciences. Also, belief in God and the really important things in life goes hand in hand with humility. Socrates stressed this, as do many of the great religions. Skepticism about God tends to correlate with pride, while true wisdom recognizes its limits, and is open to truth outside its limited perceptions. And Socrates, like Jesus, was a real counter-culturalist. Indeed, both men were hated by many because of their challenges to the status quo. Indeed, both were ultimately put to death. Of course in all this Kreeft does not equate the two great men. Socrates could only claim to be a seeker after truth, while Jesus claimed to be the truth. A key issue raised in the Euthyphro is the connection between God and goodness. Can we be good without God? The two options presented are, 1) that God chooses what is good (Euthyphro's position), and 2) that God is subject to what is good (Socrates' position). Of course Christians tend to say that this is a false dilemma, and argue for a third position, that God's goodness is coterminous with his nature. Position one seems to make God arbitrary, and position two seems to make goodness greater than God. But the third option fully equates goodness with God. What God commands is good because it is in accord with his own good nature. The last work examine

Another Great Kreeft book about Great Books...

As a popular writer who is also a populist writer, Kreeft is brilliant. This book is a delightful beginner's guide to one of the most important philosophical documents ever written. As a professor, and philosopher, and PhD--I am always looking for books that introduce the Great Books to students. Dr. Kreeft has written these helpful guides (4 now) to the Great Books. So if anyone out there is still reading and if anyone is still reading the Great Books, let Dr. Kreeft be of some help.

Strong Intro to Philosophy

I became familiar with Kreeft's work when I read his _A Refutation of Moral Relativism_; checked it out from my local library and held on to it for several weeks, reading it front-to-back several times.Prof. Kreeft uses 40 "tags" to introduce key precepts of philosophy - the love of (the search for) wisdom - and illustrates those tags with excerpts from Plato's "Apology".Cleanly written, easily comprehensible, and enjoyable, I can't wait to get my hands on more of Dr. Kreeft's work (I have a few items of his in my cart already!).With a few more works like this, we ought to be able to reverse two centuries of reductionism and relativism disguised as "Enlightenment" and fight the new generation of Sophists back into their caves.