Book Review: Socrates' Children Vol. III by Peter Kreeft

Socrates' Children Volume III Modern Philosophers by Peter Kreeft

See my review of volume I here and volume II here.

Kreeft continues his survey of the 100 most important philosophers, ranging in this volume from Rene Descartes (1596-1650) to Karl Marx (1818-1883). He mostly follows his previous format of giving some biographical information and context for the thinker and then a summary of their thought. Many of the philosophers are also subject to various critiques, some from subsequent philosophers and some from Kreeft himself. While the summaries reference key texts by these philosophers, no bibliographies are added at the end of each as in previous volumes.

The text, as before, is very readable and entertaining. While Kreeft delves into the ideas of these thinkers, he doesn't get lost or lose the reader by moving too quickly. He has some comic asides and is generally pleasant to read.

The big challenge in this volume is some of the summaries (especially Rousseau and Marx) have a lot commentary about their lives and how they do not at all match up to the philosophies they espouse. While the contrast is important to point out, Kreeft becomes very heavy-handed and judgmental at times. I am sympathetic with his disdain but I wish he were more scholarly and less vindictive.

I am still enjoying this series and will continue on to the Contemporary Philosophers.

Recommended.

Sample quote, on Kant's idea of the highest good being pleasure:

Contrast what premodern philosophers like Aristotle meant by "happiness": not mere subjective contentment but objective perfection or completeness. The test that distinguishes the two is suffering: happiness in the sense of contentment excludes suffering, but happiness in the sense of perfection or completeness includes and even requires suffering. (As Rabbi Heschel said, "The man who has not suffered--what could he possibly know, anyway?") The ancients typically identified happiness (in this rich, deep, moral sense) as the greatest good, the summum bonum, and the greatest question in their ethics was what it consisted of and how to attain it. [p. 136]