Joseph Epstein reviews Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation, by Roosevelt Montás, at First Things.
"Throughout Rescuing Socrates, Montás interweaves his account of reading and teaching St. Augustine, Plato, Freud, and Gandhi with his own autobiography. He tells us at the outset that he has chosen to write about these four figures because, like him, 'each of them experienced an inner transformation that made them into the figures we know today. In each case, the motive force was the relentless pursuit of self-understanding—the very kind of understanding that liberal education takes as its ultimate goal.'"
See Augustine, The Confessions, The City of God, and On Christian Doctrine, in Great Books of the Western World (first edition, 52 Vol., 1952) volume 18, and (second edition, 60 Vol., 1990) volume 16.
See Freud, selected works, Great Books of the Western World (first edition, 52 Vol., 1952) volume 54, (second edition, 60 Vol., 1990) volume 54.
See Plato, Dialogues, and The Seventh Letter, in Great Books of the Western World (first edition, 52 Vol., 1952) volume 7, (second edition, 60 Vol., 1990) volume 6.
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