From Socrates to Sartre: The Philosophic Quest

I completely agree with other reviews that say the book is clearly written and summarizes the six most major Western philospophers in a way that makes their conclusions easily accessible. But these reviews neglect what for me was the best part of the whole book, the 7th and final chapter, "The Contemporary Scene in Philosophy". Here Lavine relates how Wittgenstein reformed the practice of Philosophy and destroyed much of what came before by stating a simple rule: Any statement a Philosopher makes must follow the rules of the language being used to make the statement. This is Linguistic Philosophy. As someone who found much of Philosophy annoying because so many core statements by Descartes, Hegel, Sartre, etc. seemed to be nonsensical, it was a catharsis to find out that Wittgenstein felt the same way, and that he used his rule to categorize much of their work as useless. This final chapter also shows the continuing tenacity of David Hume's Empiricism and its descendants - Logical Positivism, Analytic Philosophy, and Science. To me, Wittgenstein's rule is the application of the scientific method to Philosophy itself - if a statement is nonsensical according to the rules of the language, there's nothing useful that can come from it. This parallels Hume's rule that if a statement is not testable, then it is also useless. To me it's sad that I never even heard the name Hume until adulthood, after a friend recommended Lavine's book. I think the United States might be a lot better off if David Hume were taught in public schools as part of a class in critical thinking.

Having struck out in previous efforts to connect with philosophy, I could not have been happier to discover this magnificent work. Professor Lavine combines an intellectual mastery of her subject with an unfailing (and no less important) connection to her reader as she introduces the breathtaking accomplishments and historical context of the great philosophers. Trifling are criticisms of her failure to mention every philosopher of significance or place equal emphasis on the many (at least a dozen) whose work she does address. The book would lose infinitely more than it would gain by so doing. Professor Lavine is an extraordinary guide for an extraordinary journey. I am energized and excited by the experience of reading this book.

This volume does not present itself as a comprehensiveoverview of all of Western (or Eastern) philosophy. It israther an excellent focus on several major philosophersand the major areas which their philosophies examined,analyzed, and attempted to explain. Additional volumeswhich might be added along with this one would beBertrand Russell's A HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILSOPHY, WillDurant's THE STORY OF PHILOSOPHY, and a non-philosophybook, but an excellent overview and beginning guide tofurther more specific reading and research -- CharlesVan Doren's A HISTORY OF KNOWLEGE. How do we know? And, how do we know -- that we know?What are the processes by which we take the stimulationsfrom the external world -- through our eyes, ears, nose,mouth, skin -- transmit them to our brain, and then havethem decoded, categorized, analyzed, correlated, andturned into thoughts, ideas, and actions? Most of usnever think about this intricate, and very profoundprocedure, because it happens so fast -- and we havedone it so often. But we should think about it carefullyand often. We should question the motives behind ourassociations and categorizations of ideas. Do we fallinto "habits" (biases, prejudices) of pleasure or egowhich form the usual basis for our thought formationsand actions...which prevent us from seeing and understandingthings objectively...and more in their fuller light? This excellent volume examines those same ideas inlight of the philosophies of a select group of deepthinkers. But the writing in this work is clear,insightful, and very stimulating to further readingin the philosophers themselves. The philosophers coveredin this work (after an "Introduction" titled -- "TheIndestructible Questions") are: Plato; Descartes;Hume; Hegel; Marx; and Sartre. There is a concludingsection titled: The Contemporary Scene in Philosophy. Each of these major divisions is subdivided intosections on the important concepts, analyses, andunderstandings contributed by the major philosopher.The sub-sections under PLATO are titled: Virtue isKnowledge; Shadow and Substance; The Divided Line;The Tri-Partite Soul; The Ideal State. The sub-sectionsunder DESCARTES are: Historical Transition to theModern World; Doubting to Believe; God Exists; TheClockwork Universe; Body and Soul. The sub-sectionsunder HUME are: How do you Know?; "A Well-Meanin'Critter"; Will the Sun Rise Tomorrow?: Reason--"Slaveof the Passions". The sub-sections under HEGEL are:A Revolution in Thought; The Real is the Rational;Master and Slave; The Cunning of Reason; The Owl ofMinerva. The sub-sections under MARX are: The YoungHegelian; Alienated Man; The Conflict of Classes;The World to Come. The sub-sections under SARTREare: My Existence is Absurd; Nausea; "Condemned tobe Free"; No Exit. Many people are offended by the idea that Platosuggested the censoring of dramatists and poets whoplay on the passions of their audiences. They havelabeled Plato everything from a Fascist to a proto-Communist

I had always been scared of philosophy, and assumed the subject would be too weird and difficult for me. But I decided to give one intro book a shot. Sure glad it was this one! Reading this book made me realize I was completely wrong about philosophy. It turns out that philosophy deals with compelling questions we all ask ourselves every day. This book gives a clear, concise overview of how philosophers have tried to answer these questions. It made a philosophy devotee out of me -- just finished up my MA, and am now starting a PhD program!

Lavine's survey of philosophy, "From Socrates to Sartre: The Philosophic Quest," is wonderfully successful at many things. First of all, it lets a new reader, who has never dabbled in philosophy, learn what the classical thinkers have thought. Much of the true philosophical works out there, from Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" to Sartre's "Being and Nothingness," are quite dense and almost incomprehensible to even a well read reader. Lavine does a splendid job of taking these huge works and condensing them for the reader, expressing the main points. However one should not think that I am insinuating that this is a "dumbed down" book of philosophy, not by any means. Lavine respects her reader's intelligence and lets it grow through taking very abstract philosophical ideas from centuries ago and making them very practical today. Lavine also successfully shows the reader that no philospher, not Plato, Descartes, Hume, Hegel, Marx, nor Sartre, was successful in devising a philosophy that withstood criticism. Lavine shows the reader the holes in each philosophy. More importantly, however, is Lavine mangages to make the reader think for themselves about what their personal philosophy is, and how it affects their lives. I never thought of myself as I great thinker before reading this book, but afterwords I am armed with the ideas and the conundrums to debate with any other armchair philosopher. This book makes a great introduction to philosophy while still teaching very specific ideas of each philosopher. A wonderful book