We turn to phi­los­o­phy for the same rea­sons we trav­el: to see the world from a dif­fer­ent per­spec­tive, to unearth hid­den beau­ty, and to find new ways of being. We want to learn how to embrace won­der. Face regrets. Sus­tain hope.

Eric Wein­er com­bines his twin pas­sions for phi­los­o­phy and glob­al trav­el in a pil­grim­age that uncov­ers sur­pris­ing life lessons from great thinkers around the world, from Rousseau to Niet­zsche, Con­fu­cius to Simone Weil. Trav­el­ing by train (the most thought­ful mode of trans­port), he jour­neys thou­sands of miles, mak­ing stops in Athens, Del­hi, Wyoming, Coney Island, Frank­furt, and points in between to recon­nect with phi­los­o­phy’s orig­i­nal pur­pose: teach­ing us how to lead wis­er, more mean­ing­ful lives. From Socrates and ancient Athens to Simone de Beau­voir and twen­ti­eth-cen­tu­ry Paris, Wein­er’s cho­sen philoso­phers and places pro­vide impor­tant sign­posts as we nav­i­gate today’s chaot­ic times.

In The Socrates Express, Wein­er invites us to voy­age along­side him on his life-chang­ing pur­suit of wis­dom and dis­cov­ery as he attempts to find answers to our most vital questions.