Synopses & Reviews
Christopher Phillips is a man on a mission: to revive the love of questions that Socrates inspired long ago in ancient Athens. "Like a Johnny Appleseed with a master's degree, Phillips has gallivanted black and forth across America, to cafe's and coffee shops, senior centers, assisted-living complexes, prisons, libraries, day-care centers, elementary and high schools, and churches, forming lasting communities of inquiry" (Utne Reader). Phillips not only presents the fundamentals of philosophical thought in this "charming, 'Philosophy for Dummies'-type guide" (USA Today); he also recalls what led him to start his itinerant program and re-creates some of the most invigorating sessions, which come to reveal sometimes surprising, often profound reflections on the meaning of love, friendship, work, growing old, and others among Life's big Questions.
Review
"A testament to Phillips's conviction that Americans are hungry to start probing questions." Arizona Republic
Review
"A bracing, rollicking read about the spark that ignites when people start asking meaningful questions." O magazine
Review
"[B]ring[s] philosophy out of the ivory tower and back into the lives of ordinary people, where it belongs." Rabbi Harold S. Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People
Review
"Like a Johnny Appleseed with a master's degree, Phillips has gallivanted black and forth across America, to cafe's and coffee shops, senior centers, assisted-living complexes, prisons, libraries, day-care centers, elementary and high schools, and churches, forming lasting communities of inquiry" Utne Reader
Review
"Phillips mixes the fresh, unscripted dialogue of his subjects with the texts of Socrates, Aristotle, Plato and so many others; he weaves his own personal history into the larger history of ideas; and introduces us to the friends he has made throughout his travels. It is a hopeful, energetic book, on that never loses sight of its purpose." Beth Kephart, Book
About the Author
Christopher Phillips is the author of Socrates Café, Six Questions of Socrates, Socrates in Love, and Constitution Café. He teaches at New York University and lives in Williamsburg, Virginia.