The Cave and the Light

Plato Versus Aristotle, and the Struggle for the Soul of Western Civilization

By: Arthur Herman

Narrated by: Paul Hecht

The Cave and the Light reveals how two Greek philosophers became the twin fountainheads of Western culture, and how their rivalry gave Western civilization its unique dynamism down to the present.

©2013 Arthur Herman (P)2013 Recorded Books

Exhilarating overview of philosophical history

The ultimate compliment I can provide is that I now want to read more philosophy! Hermann wonderfully ties together the two great Greeks to a ship sailing through history.

Great Breath and Depth

great narrator...worth listening. better to take notes..hard to remember all the swirls of this and that....

Great high-level review of the history of ideas

I love this book and it’s high-level summary of ideas since pre-Socratic Greece. The only annoying part: the chapters are numbered 1, 2, 3, etc. when clearly they had titles as the narrator read them. Not sure why companies are so lazy that they can’t bother to make those titles the ones in the audible file it would make searching and review much easier.

great overview of the history of philosophy

this book is easy to listen to and I enjoyed having the Plato/Aristotle thread weaved throughout the entire book since it gave it a central theme and storyline. however, I do think it was forced in a places especially as you get to more recent thinkers.

as a Christian who supports capitalism I really enjoyed the last chapter where the author gives his conclusions. however I do think that people who do not share my view will enjoy the rest of the book, which is mostly objective in its explanation of major thinkers throughout history.

Great Storytelling for a Work of Philosophy

I thought this would be an introduction to the works of Plato and Aristotle, but as it turns out, it’s much more. The book traces their ideas through history as they dodge and weave throughout the most important movements of history.

The first 2/3rds of the book were clear-cut and easy. After the Enlightenment, the ideas become harder to trace, and more challenging to follow the quick changes between people and ideas. I think the post enlightenment section could use an entire volume to expand some of the ideas further.

The performance aspect is great. There’s enough interest in the voice to keep engaged with the material. He does make a few mistakes and mispronunciations along the way, but I’d rather have that than boring.

Masterwork of Historical Philosophy

Although the length of time it took to listen to this book was over 23 hours… I thoroughly enjoyed every minute. From the content to the magnificent narrations, this is a Masterwork of historical philosophy

Wow it is the linchpin I was afraid not exist

Arthur Herman is erudite, opinionated, and courageous. The result is the book. Being a student of history , philosophy and science, I wished to come across a book like this.

Hecht’s narration is perfect! It is an A

Amazing book and wonderful reader

This book has changed my perspective about our modern world. Filled with ancient wisdom, the author lets the reader in on the origins of many if our modern problems, and offers us a perspective from which we can make better choices based on reason rather than feeling.

The intellectual trail always leads back to Plato and Aristotle

But what is the correct balance and why? This book is an excellent summation of both philosophers and the intellectual ends their ideologies have led to in the past. Excellent read.

Best book I’ve read in a while

Liked this book a lot. Narrator was outstanding, and the book moved along at a good clip.
The information imparted is excellent. This one book combines a lot of other books on the topic. A great book for non experts in the field, like myself. Very practical explanations and not esoteric to the point of an academic lecture.
Highly recommend.