The Socrates Express
In Search of Life Lessons from Dead Philosophers
Eric Weiner
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4 quotes
Chapter 1
- Philosophers are as divided about mornings as they are everything else. Nietzsche woke at dawn, splashed cold water on his face, drank a glass of warm milk, then worked until 11:00 a.m. Immanuel Kant made Nietzsche look like a slacker. He woke at 5:00 a.m., the Königsberg sky still ink-black, drank a cup of weak tea, smoked a pipe—only one, never more—then got to work. Simone de Beauvoir, bless her, didn’t wake until 10:00 a.m., and lingered over her espresso. Marcus, alas, had no such luxury: he was born some 1,200 years before the invention of coffee.Aug 31 2023 9:10PM
- The Romans viewed Greek philosophy the way most of us view opera: something worthy and beautiful, and we really should go more often, but it’s so darned difficult to follow and, besides, who has time? Romans liked the idea of philosophy more than actual philosophy. This made Marcus, an actual philosopher, highly suspect. Even as emperor, people snickered behind his back.Aug 31 2023 9:11PM
Chapter 2
- Rarely, once or twice in a lifetime if you’re lucky, you stumble across a sentence so unexpected, so plump with meaning, it stops you cold. I found such a sentence buried inside an odd little book called The Heart of Philosophy, by Jacob Needleman. I say odd because at the time I didn’t know philosophy had a heart. I thought it was all head. Here is the sentence: “Our culture has generally tended to solve its problems without experiencing its questions.”Sep 16 2023 1:57AM
- Philosophy is all about questioning assumptions, rocking the boat. Captains rarely rock their own boats. They have too much at stake. Not philosophers. They’re outliers. Aliens.Sep 16 2023 1:59AM