Part One

The way of Prophets: A Higher Authority

Part one is about the different prophets and how they worked in the world. It informs the reader about who “seekers” and “prophets” are. Also, it tells tales from the Bible about Isaiah and Job. The final chapter of the book had details about different religious views of evil and death in the world. It shows the different ways prophets thought and acted.

Part Two

The way of Philosophers: A Wondrous Instrument Within

Part two has many of the greatest philosophers of all time. It talks about Socrates and his discoveries. It also gives the reader insight into what Aristotle and Plato thought about the spoken word, versus the written. This part also talks about the philosophers’ suggestions for bettering our society. The chapter about Aristotle is about how his form got him kicked out of Athens. It then tells how Aristotle came back to Athens and how he discovered himself. Aristotle found ways to make things in society better. The chapter suggests that all the great philosophers had something to give to the world, and we should try to learn from them.

Part Three

The Christian Way: Experiments in Community

This part introduces the readers to the Christian church and how it came to be the way it is. Christianity made a new study called theology. This created places of study called monasteries. Then from the monasteries came universities, which studied not only theology, but law and arts. Finally, the protestant reformation takes place and is told by three seekers. Erasmus helps bring up humanism, Luther created an idea that faith alone is enough, and Calvin helped bring about democracy. All of these stories and ideas are based on the Christian way.

Part Four

Ways of Discovery: In Search of Experience

Part four describes how discoveries came from individuals looking for answers. Homer’s epics introduce the reader to the Greek gods. It explains that even gods have human motivations, thoughts and reactions. Herodotus wrote his history, but it had epic elements throughout. Thucydides introduced political science with his history on the Peloponnesian war. Virgil’s story was told and described how his life was cut short while on a journey to the east. Thomas More had a fantasy of utopia. The chapter sums up all the things that More thought would be the perfect utopia. The final two sections describe Descartes and Francis Bacons’ lives, and their accomplishments.

Part Five

The Liberal Way

In part five, the author paints the modern world in a Liberal Age. To fully understand, the author suggests looking at six important people. First, Niccolo Machiavelli wrote The Prince, an essay on his views of an ideal government. Also, John Locke interprets the limits of human knowledge and like others before him, believed that the foundation of knowledge is experience. Voltaire gave a new meaning to the ideas of civilization. Jean-Jacques Rousseau suggested the best liberal education starts from childhood. Tomas Jefferson helped establish the constitution of the United States. Finally, Hegel brought forth philosophical history into the world.

Part Six

The Momentum of History: Ways of Social Science

In part six, Social Science began to develop. Marquis de Condorcet believed that religion is the “enemy of progress.” August Comte, his disciple, took his studies further, and turned Condorcet’s outline into the “laws of progress meaning.” Karl Marx thought that the destruction of society, and communism would be capitalism. Spelgle and Toynbee scientifically studied different cultures in a search for answers. Some others such as Ernest Hemingway, Lincoln Steffens, John Steinbeck and John Reed, studied different revolutions of answers. Finally, several thinkers such as Arthur Koestler, Ignazio Silone, Richard Wright, Luis Fisher and Stephen Spender, called out all of the problems with the idea of communism. I can see why people would think that communism