‘What Would Socrates Say’ About Today’s Issues

Peter Kreeft’s latest book is an introduction to philosophy; it also offers a methodology for discussing life’s big questions: the Socratic dialogue.

Peter Kreeft's latest book is geared toward anyone with a love for learning and for engaging in a Socratic dialogue.

Reading about philosophy might not be something we’d usually do in our spare time, especially with strong competition from movies, video games, and sports. For college students and the college-bound, this subject may seem Greek. In this case, it is. The Greek philosopher Socrates is the subject of prolific author Peter Kreeft’s latest book “What Would Socrates Say?: An Introduction to Philosophy by the Socratic Method.”

Kreeft is a professor of philosophy at Boston College who has written over 86 books on a variety of subjects, including theology, philosophy, logic, the culture wars, and surfing (“I Surf, Therefore I Am: A Philosophy of Surfing,” combines two of the things he loves). A previous Epoch Booklist recommended his “Christianity for Modern Pagans: Pascal’s ‘Pensées.” Here, Kreeft analyzes mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal’s writings in defense of the Christian faith in the face of a very secular world.  

A Different Approach

Kreeft’s most recent philosophy book uses a unique approach to the Socratic method. In his preface, he explains that the book is a culmination of “sixty years of teaching philosophy to students of all intellectual levels, [which] has taught [him what] students identify with.” These students are represented by one of two main characters. He named this character Nat Whilk (Old English for “I know not who.”). Nat engages in a discussion with the other main character, the great philosopher Socrates—a “poor imitation of the real Socrates.”