The Socrates Express: In Search of Life Lessons from Dead Philosophers Hardcover – August 25, 2020

It does not matter if you care one bit for something as "dead" as philosophy, you should read this book for how it talks about it. Philosophy has a bad name today as something useless in an AI world, but Weiner resuscitates it with such excitement, humor and, yes, wisdom, that as soon as I got to the end of the book I returned to page 1 and started again. Few books can do that.

Resonating with outlooks expressed in Pinker’s “Enlightenment Now” and Hawking’s “Brief Answers to Big Questions” and seeking more sources along those lines, I recalled hearing author Weiner’s interview about this book on NPR. It seemed this work might point me in the direction of further comparable sources. As it turns out, the author did orient me to thinkers where I have some alignment, e.g. Epictetus/Stoicism and the Cynics as well as the Epicureans), offered a greater appreciation of other traditions, and brought me back anew to where I started with his trains of thought.In particular, the author blends train (also plane and auto) travel to present philosophers from different countries and eras in 14 chapters according to three major life phases. More specifically, after an Introduction, “Departure,” Part I. Dawn addresses (1) How to Get Out of Bed Like Marcus Aurelius, (2) How to Wonder Like Socrates, (3) How to Walk Like Rousseau, (4) How to See Like Thoreau, and (5) How to Listen Like Schopenhauer; Part II. Noon deals with (6) How to Enjoy Like Epicurus, (7) How to Pay Attention Like Simone Weil, (8) How to Fight Like Gandhi, (9) How to Be Kind Like Confucius, and (10) How to Appreciate the Small Things Like Sei Shonagon; and Part III. Dusk treats (11) How to Have No Regrets Like Nietzsche, (12) How to Cope Like Epictetus, (13) How to Grow Old Like Beauvoir, (14) How to Die Like Montaigne and an Epilogue, “Arrival.” There are also Acknowledgements, About the Author and Notes sections including Bibliographical References as well as an Index.I particularly enjoyed the cleverness with which this book was put together as a way to make and keep philosophical ideas interesting via the lives, places and stories regarding the different philosophers. In the opening pages, Weiner suggests that “We think we want information and knowledge. We do not. We want wisdom . . . Wisdom untangles the facts, makes sense of them, and, crucially, suggests how best to use them.” Proceeding from Socrates (bringing “Preface to Plato” to mind, see my review of “Eric Havelock and the Toronto School”), the author covers those less attended like Schopenhauer on Music, other Non-Western cultural connections to Gandhi, Confucius, Japanese Courtier Sei Shonegon, and back to fellow Western women thinkers like Weil and Beauvoir and others to offer many “nuggets” of wisdom.For instance, Weiner uses concepts from his subjects to enlighten about our own times. At one point (Location 1527-29), the author indicates that “. . . the Internet is Schopenhauer’s Will made manifest in the digital age. Like the Will, the Internet is omnipresent, and purposeless. . . As with the Will, the Internet offers two ways to escape its clutch: the path of the ascetic and that of the aesthete.” Elsewhere, he reveals Epicurus’s urging his followers to avoid “the prison of business affairs and politics,” while further on highlighting Gandhi’s ability to “fight the good fight” whose approaches were adopted by Martin Luther King for the American civil rights movement (see my review of Coates’ “We Were Eight Years in Power”).Such allusions helped to point me in some different directions as well as back to familiar ones. As Weiner observes “We live in the age of the algorithm and artificial intelligence, with their tacit promise to manage the uncertainty, the messiness, of life. They have not. If anything, life feels less predictable, and messier, than ever. This is where Stoicism shines.” He goes on to indicate that “The Stoics believe we can change the way we feel by changing the way we think” (prefiguring CBT), also that “a common Stoic exhortation is to “live in accord with nature.” These sentiments seem to suggest returning to thoughtful scientists as well as to seek insights from different cultures and traditions for further inspiration.Even with all the nuggets provided, there are times when the chapters feel like Weiner’s radio pieces from when he was an NPR reporter. The stories are compelling, but sometimes divergent pieces are related together to complete a narrative or fill the “air time” (see my review of Jessica Abel’s “Out on the Wire: The Storytelling Secrets of the New Masters of Radio”).In spite of the periodic digressions, I found “The Socrates Express” well worth my time and commend it to others seeking similar guidance and wisdom.

Why fall in love with wisdom? (Philo = I love. Sophia = wisdom.)Well, ‘cos maybe it can do one a heap o' good. Philosophy’s key premise works like this: If human thoughts can be induced to rhyme with reality, then reality might be much easier to bear. To handle. Since life ought to be an alliance with reality, not a struggle to subdue it.That’s my grand takeaway from the latest book from Eric Weiner.I’ve just finished reading Weiner’s “The Socrates Express,” and recommend it unhesitatingly as a perhaps unusual yet potentially satisfying Xmas gift.The book’s subtitle roughly explains its core: “In search of life lessons from dead philosophers.” But that line alone doesn’t manage to communicate the book’s very attractive tone, which is both quizzical and humorous. The book is less a trek through the history of philosophy’s leading lights, more a romp through that both far and recent past.Weiner seems to present himself as a fretful, impatient, grumpy, even neurotic narrator. However, I see him much more as a deadpan comedian. A dry humorist in the tradition of Jack Benny and Bob Newhart – albeit one whose jokes are more cerebral and whose general bent is more academic.Four sub-themes animate “The Socrates Express.” The first is travel – truly no surprise for an author who made his bones with books such as, “The Geography of Bliss” and “The Geography of Genius.” Each of the 14 chapters opens with a train journey to a locale that exerted significant influence upon a given thinker. Another thread is formed by Weiner’s lucid and economic summary of each philosopher’s principal suppositions.His third and fourth themes are the ones I found most interesting. Weiner tracks these key thoughts or postures as they shaped the progress of a philosopher’s life; and then he tries them out on his own life, usually with entirely mixed results. (Once in a while, he treats us with a bit of acerbic yet piercing side-commentary from his teenage daughter.) The net result is that Weiner greatly humanizes the highbrows, and shows us that, when all is said and done, philosophy at its best is a sincere effort to grapple with life and next, at minimum, to wrestle it to a draw.I have on my shelf several types of “introduction to philosophy” books. And I’ve made a deep dive into a few formal mindsets, primarily Stoicism. I keep the general summaries around to remind me of the full spectrum of major cognitive systems humanity has churned out over the ages. And to endow my present thinking with perspective.Of that introductory lot, I’d judge Weiner’s book as by far the best.It is the deftest, the most creative, the most communicative, the most experimental, and the wittiest. This is not to say he succeeds in every instance. His chapter on Gandhi I found superlative. But his chapter on Confucius seemed surprisingly dull and empty – I wished he’d selected an Asian seer with whom he felt a greater affinity. Buddha, perhaps. However, he more than makes up for a rare flub with other brilliant commentary – such as his chapter on Simone Weil. I confess I’d never heard of the dame before reading Weiner, and I wound up feeling grateful for this introduction.It’s no secret, as we draw to the close of 2020, that we live in hard times. And they may turn harder still.So if you presently seek to nurture and bolster your own thoughts, postures and attitudes (as well as those of your pals) in order to better cope with life in our times, this book could provide a useful boost (for you and/or for them). Yes, it deals in philosophy. But the text is lucid, amusing, and accessible. And that’s why I think “The Socrates Express” would make an awesome Xmas gift during this quite peculiar and outstandingly particular year in which we do find ourselves.Or not…

I highly recommend The Socrates Express. Eric writes with humour and humility. Two things stood out in this book. Firstly, knowing about the philosophers--their lives and where they lived--adds to their ideas, because you realise they struggled and sacrificed for their search for answers (or the best questions). Secondly, philosophy is not just logic, but is also about the emotions we all live with, and together the ideas, the emotions, and the spirit of questioning and struggle, make up philosophy.This book did inspire me, but not because it provided neat strategies for living, but because it made me want to search and wonder as well as feel and experience some of the ideas of the philosopher.I also thank the author for sharing his own experiences; I felt like I was part of his journey at times.This book does the philosophers justice.

A travel book, a history book and a philosophy book all rolled into one. A great way to learn about philosophy and how it applies to our real lives.

14 philosophers are presented in this book in a very pleasant way. Excellent style. Enlightening read.

Really enjoyed this book and wish it were longer. Fun, informative, and great writing. There is much to engage in and the author presents it in a questioning style which encourages the reader to delve deeper into their own perceptions.

I just loved this book! Educational, thought provoking and thoroughly entertaining! Left me wanting more!!!