Epicurus would be right to scoff at much of what nowadays passes for philosophy. But reductive stories about the ancients tend to ignore just how much excellent contemporary work asks—and answers—questions that would be right at home in an ancient symposium.
Unlike in the natural sciences, the central questions in philosophy are pretty much the same as they ever were: What should I believe? How should I live? Mr. Cooper’s book lucidly presents six appealing answers to those questions. But attractive as they are, they cannot be anything more than inspiration for our own continuing efforts to identify what matters most in life and why.
– Brendan Boyle, “Our Debt to the Greeks,” July 13, 2012, Wall Street Journal
At the end of the day, you won’t regret failing to acquire a bunch of facts you wouldn’t know what to do with at the end of the day.