Great Philosophers

I recently checked out the book Socrates from the children's section of the library to read with my son. Oh, how I enjoy this book and respect the words from the great Greek philosopher himself, as told in this book by Pierre Moessinger!

Socrates said: "If I had not become a philosopher, my soul would have been as ugly as my face. My desires would have been as deformed as my nose."

Pause. Just take a moment to think about what this means!

This children's book (great for adults, too) is a result of Socrates' letter to his sons in which he told them:

"...life is short, time must be spent on what is worthwhile."

"...true wisdom is in the soul, which is infinitely superior to the body."

"Truth doesn't exist without pain."

Now, one thing he said that I beg to disagree with is: "You can't write and live."

I say....

Live and Write about what you lived, if, like me, you love to write. I find writing an opportunity to relive that lived experience.

While I am fond of Socrates -- I want my son to know that there were many philosophers, Egyptian Philosphers, before Socrates' time. With that thought in mind, I came upon The Egyptian Philosophers: Ancient African Voices from Imhotep to Akhenaten.

The Synopsis reads:

"Traditional Eurocentric thought assumes that Greece was the origin of civilization. This book dispels this and other myths by showing that there is a body of knowledge that preceded Greek philosophy. The author documents how the great pyramids were built in 2800 B.C., 2,100 years before Greek civilization. The popular myth of Hippocrates being the father of medicine is dispelled by the fact that Hippocrates studied the works of Imhotep, the true father of medicine, and mentioned his name in his Hippocratic oath. Eleven famous African scholars who preceded Greek philosophers are profiled: Ptahhotep, Kagemni, Duauf, Amenhotep, Amenemope, Imhotep, Amenemhat, Merikare, Sehotepibre, Khunanup, and Akhenaten. These scholar's ideas on a variety of topics are discussed, including the emergence of science and reason, the moral order, books and education, and the clash of classes."

Happy Reading!

Penny