This lively and entertaining allegory attempts to introduce readers to the
moral dilemmas and philosophical impasses that arise along life's path. In
Kreeft's tale, readers are guided largely by Socrates (Moses and C.S. Lewis
appear late in the book) in a trek from Plato's cave to the cross of Christ.
Socrates introduces the tools of the journeyDsharp questions and sound
reasoningDand assists readers as they encounter famous thinkers who present
philosophical positions that demand decisions crucial to the direction of their
journey: Is there truth? Does meaning exist? Does God exist? The problem,
however, with this otherwise delightful book (intended for introductory
philosophy courses in Christian colleges) is that it oversimplifies and
ridicules the great minds of Western thought, apparently to underscore the
futility of anything less than faith in Jesus. For example, here Epicurus
appears as Hugh Hefner, and Diogenes, who "looked like a sad spastic
frogDrather like Jean-Paul Sartre," chooses to sulk rather than counter a
simple argument. Gorgias is an "elitist pessimist" snob; Protagoras and Kant
are but two sides of the same slick skeptic; and Nietzsche is merely a raving
lunatic who croons Sinatra's "I Did It My Way." Some might find this good fun,
others good allegory, but it certainly isn't good philosophy. (Jan.)
