Breakfast with Socrates | B

Breakfast with Socrates(March 2010) may sound like a simple, witty title for Robert Rowland Smith's new philosophy text, but it's actually a warning. Don't start reading the book until you've eaten because the whirlwind of ideas will make your head spin.

As Smith points out in the introduction, philosophy is often considered the study of the universe's big questions. Yet philosophers like Socrates didn't stop there; they also pondered life's little quandaries too. Smith uses the arguments developed by Marx, Kant, Freud and other great thinkers during their heyday and applies them to our modern-day mysteries. Why do we dress up when we are trying show off our bodies? Why do we drive to the gym? Why does the commute to work bother us just as much as work itself?

The book answers all these questions, but you have to be patient. The book is setup as a philosophical guide to the activities of our lives from waking up in morning to sleeping at night. Some chapters tackle a part of our daily routine, such as "Getting Ready," "Being at Work," and "Taking a Bath." Others deal with less frequent, but still common events like "Going to the Doctor" and "Booking a Holiday."

For most of these activities, we run on autopilot and we act and react without ever stopping and giving them a second thought. But if you read each chapter and break down each of these simple events, Smith uses clever sayings and profound philosophical principles to show us that there are many social and psychological reasons behind our behavior. Suddenly the reasons behind why we wake up in shock due to the alarm clock, make jokes about lawyers and doctors and shop ‘til we drop when we're upset make a lot more sense.

Simply put, this book is not for someone who likes to skip to the good parts. Smith's smooth, straightforward style makes you feel like you're watching a DVD of your own life with Smith's wise words serving as commentary. But to truly enjoy it, you have to get through the whole movie without fast forwarding first.

So resist the temptation to skip straight to the "Reading a Book" or "Having Sex" chapters. Breakfast with Socrates may not be a fast-paced page-turner, but it is a rewarding read for those willing to invest in it. If nothing else, the book will leave you with a new appreciation for the mundane activities in your life.