Socrates' Children: Ancient: The 100 Greatest Philosophers

by Peter Kreeft

This is the first of a four-volume history of philosophy . . . on ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary philosophy. After the fourth volume is produced in paper, a one-volume clothbound edition, containing all four paperbound editions, will be published. Kreeft focuses on the “big ideas” that have influenced present people and present times, and includes relevant biographical data, proportionate to its importance for each thinker. Moreover, the aim of the work is to stimulate philosophizing, controversy, and argument. It uses ordinary language and logic, not jargon and symbolic logic, and it is commonsensical (like Aristotle) and existential in the sense that it sees philosophy as something to be lived and experienced in life. Philosophy, after all, is not about philosophy but reality . . . about wisdom, life and death, good and evil, and God. Kreeft seeks to be simple and direct and clear. But it is not dumbed down and patronizing. It will stretch the reader, but it is meant for beginners, not just scholars. It can be used for college classes or do-it-yourselfers. It emphasizes surprises; remember, “philosophy begins in wonder.” And it includes visual charts, cartoons, line drawings, and drawings of each philosopher.

Genres: Philosophy, History, Nonfiction, Religion, Christian, Catholic

232 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2012

About the author

Peter Kreeft is an American philosopher and prolific author of over eighty books on Christian theology, philosophy, and apologetics. A convert from Protestantism to Catholicism, his journey was shaped by his study of Church history, Gothic architecture, and Thomistic thought. He earned his BA from Calvin College, an MA and PhD from Fordham University, and pursued further studies at Yale. Since 1965, he has taught philosophy at Boston College and also at The King’s College. Kreeft is known for formulating “Twenty Arguments for the Existence of God” with Ronald K. Tacelli, featured in their Handbook of Christian Apologetics. A strong advocate for unity among Christians, he emphasizes shared belief in Christ over denominational differences.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this author. On the outside he looks like any other kind grandpa, but he’s direct/digestible/hilarious/sarcastic/witty/considerate/serious-without-the-serious-tone

He doesn’t write off ideas without explaining precisely why. I’ve read two other histories of philosophy, but this 1st book in his 4 part series, so far, is the most simple, enjoyable, & impactful compared to Bertrand Russell & similar

[Gary Geraci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kreeft’s pathway to the greatest philosophers...

A must own volume of work for the budding, Christian philosopher! To know divisions in thought is to discover paths to unity in thought. I’ve already had the opportunity to reference this work several times; a handy resource for any defender of the faith.

[Charlie Eversman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do NOT read this if you don’t like Socrates.

[Joseph R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unable to find a satisfactory introduction to philosophy text for beginners, Peter Kreeft wrote his own four-volume work. His idea was to have a text that covers the history of philosophy by discussing the one hundred greatest philosophers. The text has four volumes, covering (1) the ancient philosophers (roughly 1000 BC to AD 400s), medieval philosophers (500s to 1300s), modern philosophers (1400s to 1700s), and contemporary philosophers (1800s to present). Most books that cover all this range are too long or too dry or too simplistic (or some combination of the three) for someone first learning about philosophy. Kreeft argues that the best thing is to read these authors in their original texts, but sometimes that is not easy. Like Netflix or YouTube, there are too many options to choose from without some sort of guide. This series provides that sure start to further investigation.

He calls the book "Socrates' Children" because Socrates is both the prime example of what a philosopher should be like and it can be argued that every thinker after him grappled with one or more ideas Socrates philosophized about. Twentieth-century philosopher Alfred North Whitehead is famous for saying that European philosophy is "a series of footnotes to Plato." Plato was the student of Socrates and wrote extensively about his teacher, though at some point in Plato's works he switched from presenting Socrates' ideas to using Socrates as a mouthpiece for Plato's own ideas. Socrates never wrote anything, so we rely on Plato and other authors. Since they were contemporaries of each other and of Socrates, they surely would have ratted each other out if they misrepresented the Socratic method.

Socrates did not claim to be wise but to be a lover (philia) of wisdom (sophia). He went about asking questions of people, trying to clarify their thoughts and ideas, which were often muddled and imprecise. This method leads to a deeper understanding even when it didn't come to a decisive conclusions. He used logic and common sense to get to the bottom of things, or as close as he could come. This method, which tends to point out errors and misjudgments, was not very popular with people on the receiving end of a Socratic conversation. Socrates was tried for impiety (he taught the Greek gods (Zeus, Hera, Ares, etc.) were not true gods) and for corrupting youth (he passed on his "impiety" to others). Found guilty by the court, Socrates was executed, a martyr for the truth.

Subsequent philosophers (and the handful before Socrates) all looked for truth, even if it was hard to find. This volume starts with the pre-Socratic philosophers and even goes back further to the ancient sages like Solomon, Zoroaster, Shankara, Confucius, and Jesus, who provide great insights and have had substantial influences on intellectual life the world over. After Socrates, Kreeft presents Greek and Roman philosophers, working his way through skeptics, cynics, hedonists, and ending with Plotinus, the founder of neo-Platonism. Well, that's the end of the ancient philosophers.

Kreeft presents brief overviews of each philosopher (though Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle are much longer than others because they had much more to say and much more impact). He recommends key texts and secondary sources for learning more. And he tells their stories, often humorous incidents that show their beliefs in action. A reader can easily skip to people of interest (or come back to them) and branch out into other works to get an even better understanding. Kreeft's style is very readable and accessible. This book is an excellent start to learn more about philosophy and how it grew.

Highly recommended. I am looking forward to the other three volumes.

[Trey S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read over a longer time than usual, as this was a backup book and one that I would read when I’d be in between books or in the mood for it, this book provided an excellent intro to the ancient philosophers. It covers notable ones like Socrates and Plato, Aristotle and Cicero and also covers the ones not as much talked about too, like eastern and Indian ones. You may notice I can’t really recall their names and surely that’s because it has been a while since I’ve read about them, 2 months basically, but also the book isn’t super in depth. It’s not meant to be either. It provides the philosophers, their views, their history, and reasons for and against them, but not much more. It’s a great and excellent starting spot to read about them and if one catches your attention, then you’d read more about them. This book includes recommended readings from those philosophers as well and good bibliographies. This books is basically a jack of all trades for learning about philosophy. It’s a set of 4 and I can’t wait to read the other 3, though I assume the reviews will be similar for the most part.

4/5

[Andrew Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Word on Fire makes beautiful books. When I impulsively bought this beautiful box set written by Peter Kreeft because it was a beautiful box set written by Peter Kreeft, I thought that they were written on a level for children or teens, presumably because of the words "Children" and "Introduction" in the title. I thought that it might be something that would be accessible to children in our school. That was stupid and I was wrong, which was somewhat a new feeling for me.( don't worry, I just finished a book about Humility so I know I am actually very humble right now, thank you.) The uninitiated person will probably not think of this book as a relaxing experience. Do not let that scare you away if this is something that you are interested in. It is a great introduction, and I am really looking forward to the next book in the series.

[Fr. Carlos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy the temperance in writing that Peter Kreeft has by writing only what's necessary for each philosopher. I am so excited to begin reading Vol. 2 soon. Each volume is longer, which indicates a greater degree of complexity.

[Andrew Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative, accessible, and funny. I really walked away with a deeper understanding of philosophy. I have still a long way to go but this is a good start

[Michal Lukáč · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zatiaľ prečítané dvakrát. Asi najlepší dostupný úvod do antickej filozofie pre laikov. Kreeft dokáže pekne vypichnúť pointu niekoho filozofie a podať ju jednoduchým jazykom. A nebojí sa byť vtipný a kritický (z kresťanského uhla pohľadu). No čo viac si priať?

[Patrick Santino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect companion read to my History of Philosophy course. 200 pages w/ white space (Word on Fire edition). Perfect length “Wide-survey” of the ancient philosophers & their most important ideas & contributions. Any deeper/longer & the book would instantly become unruly in material it needed to cover. It was great as a companion for the wide net it cast without going too deep into the intricacies of each philosopher’s thoughts…which should be reserved for only the most important philosophers & topics in the actual class. Even without a class, it’s an excellent survey of all 2500 years of philosophy, & to reference back upon in later philosophy studies as a refresher. I was particularly impressed with Kreeft’s thorough 4 part introduction: Why this book, Why study philosophy, a DIY philosophy course outline, & an insightful bibliography of his own. The first two parts fired me up, in fact they were the most fiery & passionate I’ve ever read Kreeft to be. The DIY course outline is really cool & reasonable, & why you don’t need to read this only as a companion supplemental text to an actual philosophy class. To do that course would finally give readers like myself their “bearings” in philosophy, to expand in depth in whatever direction or time period interests them. Finally as the book flew through the Pre-Socratics, it seemed shallow and that the book wasn’t covering much ground, but by the time I got past Aristotle, all the essentials (& a few more) from the philosophy course had definitely been covered, making this into a “succinct tome” if that is paradoxically possible. As said about the DIY course, I particularly loved all the suggested reading lists he gave throughout, even which of Plato’s works to begin with to get acquainted. Really no drawbacks with this one, besides that at times he inserts humor that might at least Seem to slightly demean the philosopher—who should be taken decently seriously if he had a significant contribution to the Great Conversation—but the humor also kept things upbeat and lively, staving off dull dryness. Highly looking forward to beginning the Vol 2 medieval period soon.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is classic Kreeft. The work is at turns riveting, informative, and entertaining! (And full of somewhat funny jokes.) It is the first in a four-part series of the history of philosophy, dedicated to the most influential ancient philosophers. Some, like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle have many pages dedicated to them. Others, just a page or two.

The work is a very good introduction to these philosophers for those less familiar. I was already fairly familiar with a few of them, but nevertheless found those chapters worth the read.

I gave this work four stars because, while it does a wonderful job of introducing the reader to each philosopher, some feel a bit light in terms of his coverage of them. The author does a good job of presenting both what each philosopher teaches and critiques of those teachings. But he doesn’t do this for all (at least not thoroughly enough).

Nevertheless, this is a charming volume in a splendid series that I would highly recommend to any non-specialist who isn’t already deeply familiar with the history of philosophy!

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Instant favorite, this was a fantastic introduction to ancient philosophy! It's beginner friendly, but it also doesn't leave you a beginner (like some other introductory type books)--you've actually learned and grown quite a bit by the time you finish. This is the first of four volumes, I look forward to the next three.

*I was misled by the world children in the title and didn't dig deeper, this book is NOT intended for children. It's saying Socrates is the father of philosophy, not that it's a philosophy treasury for children. My bad 😅 If they're used to reading pretty dense literature they will be okay though (it's maybe a high school reading level, but discusses very abstract concepts that can be boring or difficult). If you read aloud the Book of Virtues and they did okay with that, this is similar. However, there is a mention or two of sex (the Indian philosophy around the Karma Sutra comes to mind) and some gory deaths for a couple of the philosophers (mentioned but not dwelled upon).

[Matthew Lauderdale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter Kreeft never disappoints! With this series, Socrates' Children, Kreeft has created a compendium of who he believes are the 100 most important philosophers in history. These 100 are broken up into four different volumes, aligning with the period of history they lived in: the ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary periods. If you're interested in philosophy but maybe you don't have much exposure, definitely check this out! Kreeft gives a brief overview of each person's life, their most important ideas, why these ideas are important, and other resources if you want to learn more about them. This book is extremely beginner friendly and does a wonderful job of introducing the reader to a wide variety of philosophical ideas and concepts, but makes it very easy to understand. This one gets a very easy recommendation!

[Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the content in this book; the author knows his stuff and is good at teaching it. My rating isn't higher because the book really needs some editing, as it has several typos and unexplained abbreviations. It also claims in the introduction to have things like a picture for each philosopher, which are not to be found in the book. Again, the material that is there is very good, and I plan to continue reading the series, but I was disappointed by the publisher's treatment of the book.

[Shea Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It will probably be sometime before I read this whole book, simply because it is more of a reference book for philosophers. But in the three chapters I have read it captures the ideas of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle incredibly well and is easy reading. For helping me grasp incredibly heady and difficult concepts the book is light reading. Kreeft is well read and a clear teacher of the philosophers. Thankful to have this book.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to the ancient philosophers, explained with Kreeft's trademark clarity. He is concise and fair, and he also shows the weakness in the philosophers' arguments.

I'd give this a 5 if the final editing had been complete. There are odd punctuation marks and paragraph breaks, incomplete/missing citations, and possibly some missing words or lines. Also, Kreeft's humorous touches, while always very witty, can sometimes be distracting.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great introduction to the ancient philosophers; you learn about the historical context within which they lived (important to me as more of a “history” lover than a “philosopher”), and he summarizes their ideas in a digestible way. Plus, his dry, witty humor keeps you engaged (not that it’s necessary; Kreeft’s writing is always easy to follow and stay interested with). I’m looking forward to the follow-on books in the series!

[Andy Yonker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Kreeft presents these philosophers in a witty and succinct way. His experience teaching college philosophy is clear--the way he breaks down their ideas is very useful. Of course, he does have a small bias t0wards Christian philosophers or ideas adopted by medieval philosophers (like Aristotle), but it only increased my respect for him to clearly lay out counterarguments and offer counters to counterarguments. Looking forward to the rest of the series!

[Anthony M Skelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

My only criticism is that Kreeft’s ability to dumb down complex ideas of certain philosophers doesn’t sufficiently dumb it down to my comprehension level, but that’s more of an indictment on me than on the author. I learned a lot about some of the foundational thinkers of western civilization, as well as the birth of skepticism and cynicism and other schools of thought that I didn’t know were specifically attributable to historical figures.

[William Raymond · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a fine book, but keep well aware that it is written by a Catholic theologian who does next to nothing to tamp down his bias towards Christian ethics and metaphysics. There's nothing wrong with having a perspective, but the author presents the text as an unbiased history while simultaneously cataloging imbalanced "rebuttals" against the philosophers he clearly dislikes, which range from excellent to borderline strawman.

[Jerry Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome introduction to the series, and well thought out explanations of the philosophies and refutations/ fallacies of ancient philosophies. Socrates, Plato & Aristotle are clearly aeon changing philosophies whose works are still clearly debated on a daily basis in every philosophy thought since ancient times.

[Alessio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for what it's intending to be: a short and readable survey of Greek and Roman philosophy. It's not incredibly in-depth, but it serves as a good launch pad for engaging in higher-level material; the book is filled with bibliographical material at the end of each chapter to help guide you in what your next read should be depending on what interests you.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

No other intro philosophy book quite like it. While Kreeft is Catholic, you only see his pleasure in discussing ideas and the philosophers responsible for us talking about them. I recommend it to anyone (while being frustrated with the author for reasons you’d never know about if these books were your only interaction with him).

[Chris Lincoln · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captures well the essence of philosophy’s beginnings

Amazing cohesive insights that lay a good foundation for all future philosophical reading.
Everything one needs to get their philosophical appetite craving is here!

[Diana Kullman · Rating 5 out of 5]

With my limited experience with philosophy, I thought this four volume set by Peter Kreef would be a great resource. Volume One wasn't a fast read, but is written in a way to highlight the philosophers and the differences between their different 'schools'
On to volume two ...

[Katelynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy Peter Kreeft’s writing so much. His little jokes sprinkled throughout make this somewhat lofty topic very enjoyable. I think this is a great intro to the Philosophers option. Looking forward to continuing in the series.

[Elijah Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Socrates' Children was a great introduction into philosophy. Peter Kreeft does a great job giving enough details about each philosopher. I finished the book with a good general idea of the big ideas of the ancient world.

[Paul Parkinson]

Starting at the beginning. Author does an incredible job. A lot comes back. Also, his further reading list has included Alan Watts a couple of times. Moving on to vol 2

[Noah Letner · Rating 3 out of 5]

some good, some bad...obviously a christian (philosopher?)...

[Charles Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect for any beginner in philosophy to anyone well-versed in it