The Inner Philosopher: Conversations on Philosophy's Transformative Power

In the 16 spirited conversations comprising this volume, authors Lou Marinoff and Daisaku Ikeda revive and celebrate philosophy as an accessible source of wisdom and courage for everyone. For Marinoff and Ikeda, the philosophies of Shakyamuni Buddha, Lao Tzu, Confucius, Aristotle, and Socrates are as relevant now as when first articulated more than 2,000 years ago. They are motivated by the conviction that philosophy should do nothing less than help draw forth an inner strength to face and surpass life’s inevitable hardships and challenges—showing here that wisdom is never out of reach and opportunities for positive transformation are many.

Lou Marinoff is a professor and chair of philosophy at the City College of New York. He is the founding president of the American Philosophical Practitioners Association and the author of The Big Questions, The Middle Way, and Plato Not Prozac. He lives in Monroe, New York. Daisaku Ikeda is the founder and president of the Soka Gakkai International, a lay Buddhist organization with 12 million members worldwide. He has written and lectured widely on Buddhism, humanism, and ethics, and has published dialogues with global figures such as Arnold Toynbee, Linus Pauling, and Mikhail Gorbachev.