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Knowledge Trilogy #3
The Seekers: The Story of Man's Continuing Quest to Understand His World Knowledge Trilogy
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year
From the author of The Discoverers and The Creators , an incomparable history of man's essential questions: "Who are we?" and "Why are we here?"
Daniel J. Boorstin, the bestselling and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Americans , introduces us to some of the great pioneering seekers whose faith and thought have for centuries led man's search for meaning.
Moses sought truth in God above while Sophocles looked to reason. Thomas More and Machiavelli pursued truth through social change. And in the modern age, Marx and Einstein found meaning in the sciences. In this epic intellectual adventure story, Boorstin follows the great seekers from the heroic age of prophets and philosophers to the present age of skepticism as they grapple with the great questions that have always challenged man.
From the author of The Discoverers and The Creators , an incomparable history of man's essential questions: "Who are we?" and "Why are we here?"
Daniel J. Boorstin, the bestselling and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Americans , introduces us to some of the great pioneering seekers whose faith and thought have for centuries led man's search for meaning.
Moses sought truth in God above while Sophocles looked to reason. Thomas More and Machiavelli pursued truth through social change. And in the modern age, Marx and Einstein found meaning in the sciences. In this epic intellectual adventure story, Boorstin follows the great seekers from the heroic age of prophets and philosophers to the present age of skepticism as they grapple with the great questions that have always challenged man.
351 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1998
140 people are currently reading
2186 people want to read
About the author
Daniel J. Boorstin
197 books380 followersDaniel Joseph Boorstin was a historian, professor, attorney, and writer. He was appointed twelfth Librarian of the United States Congress from 1975 until 1987.
He graduated from Tulsa's Central High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at the age of 15. He graduated with highest honors from Harvard, studied at Balliol College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and earned his PhD at Yale University. He was a lawyer and a university professor at the University of Chicago for 25 years. He also served as director of the National Museum of History and Technology of the Smithsonian Institution.
His The Americans The Democratic Experience received the 1974 Pulitzer Prize in history.
Within the discipline of social theory, Boorstin’s 1961 book The Image A Guide to Pseudo-events in America is an early description of aspects of American life that were later termed hyperreality and postmodernity. In The Image, Boorstin describes shifts in American culture—mainly due to advertising—where the reproduction or simulation of an event becomes more important or "real" than the event itself. He goes on to coin the term pseudo-event which describes events or activities that serve little to no purpose other than to be reproduced through advertisements or other forms of publicity. The idea of pseudo-events closely mirrors work later done by Jean Baudrillard and Guy Debord. The work is still often used as a text in American sociology courses.
When President Gerald Ford nominated Boorstin to be Librarian of Congress, the nomination was supported by the Authors League of America but opposed by the American Library Association because Boorstin "was not a library administrator." The Senate confirmed the nomination without debate.
Boorstin died in 2004 in Washington, D.C.
He graduated from Tulsa's Central High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at the age of 15. He graduated with highest honors from Harvard, studied at Balliol College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and earned his PhD at Yale University. He was a lawyer and a university professor at the University of Chicago for 25 years. He also served as director of the National Museum of History and Technology of the Smithsonian Institution.
His The Americans The Democratic Experience received the 1974 Pulitzer Prize in history.
Within the discipline of social theory, Boorstin’s 1961 book The Image A Guide to Pseudo-events in America is an early description of aspects of American life that were later termed hyperreality and postmodernity. In The Image, Boorstin describes shifts in American culture—mainly due to advertising—where the reproduction or simulation of an event becomes more important or "real" than the event itself. He goes on to coin the term pseudo-event which describes events or activities that serve little to no purpose other than to be reproduced through advertisements or other forms of publicity. The idea of pseudo-events closely mirrors work later done by Jean Baudrillard and Guy Debord. The work is still often used as a text in American sociology courses.
When President Gerald Ford nominated Boorstin to be Librarian of Congress, the nomination was supported by the Authors League of America but opposed by the American Library Association because Boorstin "was not a library administrator." The Senate confirmed the nomination without debate.
Boorstin died in 2004 in Washington, D.C.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
September 6, 2013
The first two books in Daniel Boorstin's Knowledge Trilogy, The Discoverers (about science) and The Creators (about art), are both outstanding examples of comprehensive history done well. They're weighty books, but the fascinating information and engaging writing do much to offset their intimidating girth.
This third volume and final volume, The Seekers, is half their size and unfortunately about half as interesting. (Granted, Boorstin's a very interesting writer, so half as interesting in a Boorstin book is still more than interesting than most). Never-the-less The Seekers reads more like an afterthought.
The first part of the book covers the Hebrew prophets, Greek philosophy, and Christianity. The second part is mainly about politics and the dynamic thinkers in that area, and the last bit leans more toward sociology. Most of the individual chapters are engrossing, though there are a few sections that lose momentum. In addition, transitions between different subjects are not as smooth as in the other books. The religious portions don't quite glide smoothly into the philosophical portions, and the general theme of the book seems slightly ambiguous.
Still, the Knowledge Trilogy is like a trip through a sumptuous library with the benefit of a savvy, witty tour guide who knows all the books by heart. The Seekers is the weakest entry, but would still brighten anyone's bookcase. (I just can't help but wish there were more historians with the ambition and the voluminous erudition to write stuff like this.)
This third volume and final volume, The Seekers, is half their size and unfortunately about half as interesting. (Granted, Boorstin's a very interesting writer, so half as interesting in a Boorstin book is still more than interesting than most). Never-the-less The Seekers reads more like an afterthought.
The first part of the book covers the Hebrew prophets, Greek philosophy, and Christianity. The second part is mainly about politics and the dynamic thinkers in that area, and the last bit leans more toward sociology. Most of the individual chapters are engrossing, though there are a few sections that lose momentum. In addition, transitions between different subjects are not as smooth as in the other books. The religious portions don't quite glide smoothly into the philosophical portions, and the general theme of the book seems slightly ambiguous.
Still, the Knowledge Trilogy is like a trip through a sumptuous library with the benefit of a savvy, witty tour guide who knows all the books by heart. The Seekers is the weakest entry, but would still brighten anyone's bookcase. (I just can't help but wish there were more historians with the ambition and the voluminous erudition to write stuff like this.)
July 24, 2016
If you picked just one author to get your World History from, you could do much worse than reading Daniel Boorstin. "The Seekers" is the third in Boorstin's trio of books that nicely encapsulate the history of the world by looking at a series of accomplishments.
"The Discoverers" detailed every major scientific and geographical discovery throughout history, everything somehow shoe-horned into a mere 768 pages. "The Creators" came next, a bit longer than the earlier book and outlining every important artistic achievement.
"The Seekers" rounds out Boorstin's trio by talking about historical figures who searched "for an understand of human existence". This covers philosophers, religious figures and social scientists.
Boorstin's third book is nearly as good as the earlier two and only suffers because of its brevity. At around half the length of the earlier two books, Boorstin appears to be rushing a bit to fit everything in. Still, his writing style is as relaxed and informal as in the other two books and the result is a very approachable summary of the man's search for meaning.
"The Discoverers" detailed every major scientific and geographical discovery throughout history, everything somehow shoe-horned into a mere 768 pages. "The Creators" came next, a bit longer than the earlier book and outlining every important artistic achievement.
"The Seekers" rounds out Boorstin's trio by talking about historical figures who searched "for an understand of human existence". This covers philosophers, religious figures and social scientists.
Boorstin's third book is nearly as good as the earlier two and only suffers because of its brevity. At around half the length of the earlier two books, Boorstin appears to be rushing a bit to fit everything in. Still, his writing style is as relaxed and informal as in the other two books and the result is a very approachable summary of the man's search for meaning.
August 13, 2023
I read the Discoverers, the first book of Boorstin’s series several years ago (or maybe decades ago 😊.). I’m not sure why I waited so long to read another book of his series. The Seekers is the third and final book of the series (I plan on reading The Creators, the second book in the series, in the very near future.). I found the work to be a beautifully written and organized set of chapters, relating a hand picked set of “Seekers” (Individuals in their quest of understanding their world) and their individual points of view. With this read you not only learn of individual lives, but also the context and the world of their times. If you enjoy reading of the history of the Western view, this is a great one to start with.
November 2, 2021
The late historian Daniel J. Boorstin’s (1914-2004) ‘The Seekers’ is about how our ways of thinking have evolved over the last few millennia. The author has a nice writing style, but the thought-provoking book still required me to concentrate more while reading every line. There were times I had to re-read a sentence or paragraph to make sure I understood what he was saying. ‘The Seekers’ is not like breezing through a Stephen King or Carl Hiaasen novel. However, I found his insights to be very illuminating. I learned loads of stuff from every page and came away from the book understanding that humans and cultures view and deduce the world around them based upon shifting norms. While the author does skim over such mindsets as Buddhism and Hinduism near the beginning of his book, the author’s primary focus is on the great thinkers who influenced Western culture.
Mr. Boorstin explains how people around the time of the Old Testament viewed the inexplicable as simply how God wanted it. Further inquiry was never pursued. The world was static and did not evolve. Introspection was not a thing back then. A lot stuff was simply tossed into the It’s-God’s-Will Department. The author uses a brief portion of the book in describing how civilization went from the age of prophets like Moses to more complex ruminations by the Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Each big thinker built upon some portion of what prior philosophers had speculated. The rise of Christianity is also covered because of its impact on Western civilization that endures even today. ‘The Seekers’ touches upon such topics as the Nicene Creed; monasteries; the creation of medieval universities; philosophy versus theology; the Protestant Reformation in Europe; the first historians Herodotus and Thucydides; Frances Bacon; the Renaissance; the father of modern philosophy and one of the first modern scientists Rene Descartes; Machiavelli; John Locke; Voltaire’s Age of Enlightenment; Thomas Jefferson; Karl Marx; Ralph Waldo Emerson; Existentialism; the displacement of racial superiority and absolute hierarchies by the rise of cultural relativism; William James; Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.; Edward O. Wilson; and Albert Einstein. There are quite a few people not mentioned in the previous sentence that were new to me. Mercy, I was also surprised at how so many of the unorthodox thinkers either ran for their lives, were imprisoned, and/or executed because they pissed off political or religious leaders. The author presents opposing fields of thought and how the arguments still persist today. Though Mr. Boorstin does not say so in the book, I concluded from reading ‘The Seekers’ that mysticism and religions will always be around, no matter the future mind-blowing scientific discoveries, because science will not comfort people about life’s purpose or our eventual death. Many people accept myths as actual facts, so as to cope with life’s unknowns.
Mr. Boorstin acknowledges in his introduction that ‘The Seekers’ is his personal assessment of the most influential individuals or entities that helped broadening the scope of HOW human’s seek knowledge. I’m certainly not going to argue with him. The dude was a highly respected historian and appointed the twelfth Librarian of the United States Congress from 1975 to 1987. I also recommend the brilliant author’s 1962 nonfiction work ‘The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America.’ It’s even more relevant today in the Internet Age. After reading Mr. Boorstin’s book, you may need to decompress by reading much easier material like Dr. Seuss’s ‘Green Eggs and Ham.’
Mr. Boorstin explains how people around the time of the Old Testament viewed the inexplicable as simply how God wanted it. Further inquiry was never pursued. The world was static and did not evolve. Introspection was not a thing back then. A lot stuff was simply tossed into the It’s-God’s-Will Department. The author uses a brief portion of the book in describing how civilization went from the age of prophets like Moses to more complex ruminations by the Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Each big thinker built upon some portion of what prior philosophers had speculated. The rise of Christianity is also covered because of its impact on Western civilization that endures even today. ‘The Seekers’ touches upon such topics as the Nicene Creed; monasteries; the creation of medieval universities; philosophy versus theology; the Protestant Reformation in Europe; the first historians Herodotus and Thucydides; Frances Bacon; the Renaissance; the father of modern philosophy and one of the first modern scientists Rene Descartes; Machiavelli; John Locke; Voltaire’s Age of Enlightenment; Thomas Jefferson; Karl Marx; Ralph Waldo Emerson; Existentialism; the displacement of racial superiority and absolute hierarchies by the rise of cultural relativism; William James; Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.; Edward O. Wilson; and Albert Einstein. There are quite a few people not mentioned in the previous sentence that were new to me. Mercy, I was also surprised at how so many of the unorthodox thinkers either ran for their lives, were imprisoned, and/or executed because they pissed off political or religious leaders. The author presents opposing fields of thought and how the arguments still persist today. Though Mr. Boorstin does not say so in the book, I concluded from reading ‘The Seekers’ that mysticism and religions will always be around, no matter the future mind-blowing scientific discoveries, because science will not comfort people about life’s purpose or our eventual death. Many people accept myths as actual facts, so as to cope with life’s unknowns.
Mr. Boorstin acknowledges in his introduction that ‘The Seekers’ is his personal assessment of the most influential individuals or entities that helped broadening the scope of HOW human’s seek knowledge. I’m certainly not going to argue with him. The dude was a highly respected historian and appointed the twelfth Librarian of the United States Congress from 1975 to 1987. I also recommend the brilliant author’s 1962 nonfiction work ‘The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America.’ It’s even more relevant today in the Internet Age. After reading Mr. Boorstin’s book, you may need to decompress by reading much easier material like Dr. Seuss’s ‘Green Eggs and Ham.’
November 28, 2015
This is like a crash introduction to "influential philosophers." Boorstin is widely read and he is able to condense so much knowledge in a very short book.
At the same time, this is not exactly a fascinating read. Too short, and the author is trying to be too objective. I miss the opinionated voice of the historian like Barzun instead, for who in this world is without bias? Boorstin steers clear from making personal comments, but it doesn't mean that the book is unbiased. It is, after all, his book, his interpretation of one aspect of mankind as "Seekers," his selection of philosophers, his understanding of their works.
Another note, "Man's continuing quest to understand his world knowledge" should be "Western Man." Boorstin wasn't able to cover the magnificent world outside Europe and North America, except for a few prophets so early in history or few saints from North Africa. Why, Confucius or Lao Tzu definitely deserve space as much as Aristotle.
At the same time, this is not exactly a fascinating read. Too short, and the author is trying to be too objective. I miss the opinionated voice of the historian like Barzun instead, for who in this world is without bias? Boorstin steers clear from making personal comments, but it doesn't mean that the book is unbiased. It is, after all, his book, his interpretation of one aspect of mankind as "Seekers," his selection of philosophers, his understanding of their works.
Another note, "Man's continuing quest to understand his world knowledge" should be "Western Man." Boorstin wasn't able to cover the magnificent world outside Europe and North America, except for a few prophets so early in history or few saints from North Africa. Why, Confucius or Lao Tzu definitely deserve space as much as Aristotle.
March 2, 2017
Once again, Boorstin has lived up to my expectations. Although "Creators" remains my favorite book in the trilogy, "Seekers" comes in second. The biographical elements seem to dominate in the final chapters (as was the case in "Discoverers"), but a larger portion of the book was just what I expected - full of useful information, presented in clear, fluid, easily-digestible language. The biographical elements themselves did not bother me. However, as the chapters progressed (maybe this purely subjective), more and more biographical details were introduced which weren't always relevant to the chapter's main topic. Nevertheless, Boorstin's trilogy is one of the most useful and knowledge-packed series of books I have had the pleasure of reading.
June 29, 2025
Discoveries, inventions, and creations are a defining part of Western culture, just as important as the material elements are the religious and philosophical ideas, thoughts, and questions. The Seekers by Daniel J. Boorstin is a chronicle of Western culture’s search for the answer to the question “why?” over the millennia and how it influenced Western culture itself.
In a little over 300 pages Boorstin writes and connects 41 mini essays covering the lives, ideas, and impact of seekers from ancient times to the modern. The book is divided into three epochs, the first of which was Ancient Heritage covering the prophets of the Old Testament, the philosophical trinity—Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle—of Ancient Greece, and finally the merger of the two in Christianity. Communal Search was the second as it covered how history was written for communities first in epics following the struggles of heroes then transitioning to the course of events as seen in Herodotus and Thucydides, then how in the context of their society’s seekers look to define the individual within a community. Finally, the Paths to the Future covers the abandonment of the empowerment of the individual to the masses who follow an ideology that eventually led to the abandonment of the state to find answers in culture or in existentialism or in the solace of diversity and eventually to looking past the finite to the infinite in processes of evolution or figuring out scientific universal laws. Unlike the previous two volumes of Boorstin’s “Knowledge” series, the West is specified from the beginning thus not promising or giving a false impression that he’ll cover viewpoints from other cultures. Also in this volume, Boorstin speaks out about certain things especially ideology, the belief that the ideas expressed were true because they could be “proven” leading to not only the lose of influence of the individual but also the meaning of being an individual, which proved the basis for the rise of the totalitarian regimes found at both extremes of the political spectrum. As an introduction or get a summary of the cultural history of Western religious and philosophical thought, Boorstin’s book is a great place to start or read but this shouldn’t be mistaken for an authoritative look into it.
The Seekers is the final volume of Daniel Boorstin’s “Knowledge” series, the shortest of the series but the one that invites the reader to explore further the ideas and thoughts that were shaped by and did shape Western culture.
In a little over 300 pages Boorstin writes and connects 41 mini essays covering the lives, ideas, and impact of seekers from ancient times to the modern. The book is divided into three epochs, the first of which was Ancient Heritage covering the prophets of the Old Testament, the philosophical trinity—Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle—of Ancient Greece, and finally the merger of the two in Christianity. Communal Search was the second as it covered how history was written for communities first in epics following the struggles of heroes then transitioning to the course of events as seen in Herodotus and Thucydides, then how in the context of their society’s seekers look to define the individual within a community. Finally, the Paths to the Future covers the abandonment of the empowerment of the individual to the masses who follow an ideology that eventually led to the abandonment of the state to find answers in culture or in existentialism or in the solace of diversity and eventually to looking past the finite to the infinite in processes of evolution or figuring out scientific universal laws. Unlike the previous two volumes of Boorstin’s “Knowledge” series, the West is specified from the beginning thus not promising or giving a false impression that he’ll cover viewpoints from other cultures. Also in this volume, Boorstin speaks out about certain things especially ideology, the belief that the ideas expressed were true because they could be “proven” leading to not only the lose of influence of the individual but also the meaning of being an individual, which proved the basis for the rise of the totalitarian regimes found at both extremes of the political spectrum. As an introduction or get a summary of the cultural history of Western religious and philosophical thought, Boorstin’s book is a great place to start or read but this shouldn’t be mistaken for an authoritative look into it.
The Seekers is the final volume of Daniel Boorstin’s “Knowledge” series, the shortest of the series but the one that invites the reader to explore further the ideas and thoughts that were shaped by and did shape Western culture.
January 23, 2019
Trata-se de um livro de história das ideias do sentido da existência humana, integrado numa trilogia ambiciosa e de certo alcance que inclui os Descobridores, os Criadores e os Pensadores.
Não se poderá dizer que a abordagem a cada pensador (figuras de relevo que se ocuparam de buscar o sentido existência) fica muito à tona, mas, assumindo a metáfora, não estará também além da plataforma continental. É um texto acessível, mas não um primeiro livro a ler sobre o tema; é importante deter já algumas noções e aprendizagens sobre os pensadores ou dedicar algum tempo de pesquisa porque a organização cronológica e a intersecção das diversas ideias (numa "tessitura em escamas") de cada pensador não está estruturada com um fim puramente didático, mas sim também desafiador/de discussão e por vezes adquire mesmo um tom coloquial com "viagens" entre temas e conceitos que poderá não facilitar um primeiro contacto. A referenciação essa sim foi assumidamente simplificada para fins mais didáticos, o que reveste também as suas limitações.
O contributo de cada pensador é também apresentado com o calibre de filtração indicado a esta obra, o que nem sempre é sinónimo de que as obras mais marcantes ou os contributos de maior relevo estejam plasmados neste livro.
Não obstante, uma leitura enriquecedora de um trabalho importante sobre um tema que nunca nos devemos cansar de revisitar, com o horizonte da constante atualização do nosso olhar.
Não se poderá dizer que a abordagem a cada pensador (figuras de relevo que se ocuparam de buscar o sentido existência) fica muito à tona, mas, assumindo a metáfora, não estará também além da plataforma continental. É um texto acessível, mas não um primeiro livro a ler sobre o tema; é importante deter já algumas noções e aprendizagens sobre os pensadores ou dedicar algum tempo de pesquisa porque a organização cronológica e a intersecção das diversas ideias (numa "tessitura em escamas") de cada pensador não está estruturada com um fim puramente didático, mas sim também desafiador/de discussão e por vezes adquire mesmo um tom coloquial com "viagens" entre temas e conceitos que poderá não facilitar um primeiro contacto. A referenciação essa sim foi assumidamente simplificada para fins mais didáticos, o que reveste também as suas limitações.
O contributo de cada pensador é também apresentado com o calibre de filtração indicado a esta obra, o que nem sempre é sinónimo de que as obras mais marcantes ou os contributos de maior relevo estejam plasmados neste livro.
Não obstante, uma leitura enriquecedora de um trabalho importante sobre um tema que nunca nos devemos cansar de revisitar, com o horizonte da constante atualização do nosso olhar.
February 23, 2023
I'm not 100% sure what to make of this book. Boorstin is an interesting and unique writer, and he has a lot of fascinating and prescient things to say. His book "The Image" is a media studies touchstone that I don't see ever really going out of style. His other work, though, seems much harder to codify and entirely see the point of. This work, in particular, is a brief passage through time as Boorstin traces the lineage of ideas and meanings that link key figures throughout history that he labels "Seekers" because of their desire to pursue transcendant truths and unravel the mysteries of Man and the universe. But the book really just reads like a greatest hits compendium of Western philosophy with kind of murky links between figures, sometimes, and an occasionally questionable interpretation of their ideas. The book certainly has a structure and an energy to it, but the point or importance of its coverage and arguments was, at times, debatable. I enjoyed my time with parts of this book and not others, and ultimately came away feeling somewhat mixed in whether or not it was worth the time.
November 20, 2021
When I first read "The Discoverers", it quickly be became my favorite non-fiction book on science since "The Lives of Cells." It was fascinating...riveting. I read it through is a few sittings and go back constantly to reference or refresh. "The Creators", while quite good in its own right, didn't appeal to me as did "The Discoverers." However, sophomore efforts are often a let down. When I grabbed "The Seekers" I was truly hoping to recapture that love I had for the first of Boorstin's trilogy. Instead, I forced my way through the book feeling all the while that he had a contract to write 3 books and just mailed this one in. Sure it has some interesting tidbits and is not a complete waste of time but I was not in anyway enamored with this book.
November 5, 2025
2.5/5 I have loved reading histories of philosophy and when the author’s name came up in a book I recently loved, I picked it up. And to be reminded why I had abandoned a book by him half-way thru earlier (I rarely do!).
The main reason is that he tries to cover too much. And as a result it feels like reading wikipedia mini-pages without the depth and context. Secondly, bcoz it is rushed, a few (unknown) names are dropped in and it is difficult to understand their relevance to the chapter. The frustrating thing is that the author has the knowledge and insights and at an unhurried pace, these would have been fantastic reads.
I had decided to make another attempt on the book I had abandoned earlier, but it is back in my “unreadable” shelf.
The main reason is that he tries to cover too much. And as a result it feels like reading wikipedia mini-pages without the depth and context. Secondly, bcoz it is rushed, a few (unknown) names are dropped in and it is difficult to understand their relevance to the chapter. The frustrating thing is that the author has the knowledge and insights and at an unhurried pace, these would have been fantastic reads.
I had decided to make another attempt on the book I had abandoned earlier, but it is back in my “unreadable” shelf.
July 31, 2024
The subtitle says it all - the story of man's quest to understand his world - although it should probably state "Western mankind." The opening chapters on ancient religious thought and philosophy felt like a quick overview - an all too brief summary. That feeling didn't completely go away, but things did improve as the book moved through the centuries. This is the shortest of Boorstin's three books on world history and the accumulation of knowledge, and it could have been longer. I was a little surprised at some thinkers that he left out. Still, I always enjoy Boorstin's insights and this book was no exception.
January 13, 2025
The best part of this book is how it reframed history for me. It changed how I see the same history I know into how the historical figures were seekers of different kind of answers.
The book covers a very wide array of historical figures despite it not being very thick in an engaging way. I enjoyed the people he selected to cover.
The cons of the book are that while it's written in a way that an expert on the topic wouldn't be interested because it tells you history and only the key claims of the people...Daniel at the same time writes as if you know the people. He uses random first names or names of places that existed in the past....there are just so many of them. Half the time I was left wondering who or even what is this again? Is it a person or a place or an object?
One interesting part of his writing is that he seamlessly blends his own opinion with quotes of the historical figures. I say interesting because while I did like it often times I was confused if it was him saying this or the historical figure.
Finally, he also uses some huge prentious words such as 'grandiloquent', and 'panoply'. Often when a synonym that we use in everyday language would have been fine too. I had to use the dictionary many times which broke the flow of reading.
The book covers a very wide array of historical figures despite it not being very thick in an engaging way. I enjoyed the people he selected to cover.
The cons of the book are that while it's written in a way that an expert on the topic wouldn't be interested because it tells you history and only the key claims of the people...Daniel at the same time writes as if you know the people. He uses random first names or names of places that existed in the past....there are just so many of them. Half the time I was left wondering who or even what is this again? Is it a person or a place or an object?
One interesting part of his writing is that he seamlessly blends his own opinion with quotes of the historical figures. I say interesting because while I did like it often times I was confused if it was him saying this or the historical figure.
Finally, he also uses some huge prentious words such as 'grandiloquent', and 'panoply'. Often when a synonym that we use in everyday language would have been fine too. I had to use the dictionary many times which broke the flow of reading.
February 4, 2022
Maybe a little more than 3.5. I am always curious about surveys of human accomplishment. They always broaden my scope of interests and my ability to place where ideas came from. And ultimately lead me to new reading lists!
But I really grew tired of the description of everyone as “X the Seeker”. It was quite tiresome.
And no women.
But I really grew tired of the description of everyone as “X the Seeker”. It was quite tiresome.
And no women.
October 13, 2024
heady and thought provoking
once again Boorstein encapsulates and summarizes a sweeping history of thought and philosophy. Erudite and with an encyclopedic vision he, like Dante's Virgil, take the reader on a fascinating journey through Western ideas and the people who shared those visions with the word.
once again Boorstein encapsulates and summarizes a sweeping history of thought and philosophy. Erudite and with an encyclopedic vision he, like Dante's Virgil, take the reader on a fascinating journey through Western ideas and the people who shared those visions with the word.
January 8, 2019
Detailed effects of over 50 seekers on man's understanding. Good info on the ancient Greeks. Much seeking during Dark Ages sought only God. Seekers in age of scientific discovery seemed a bit limited by power of science (e.g., Newton, Darwin). Touched on existentialism. Ended with Einstein.
June 10, 2022
This is a reread for me and it was just as great!! This book got me to read Voltaire, Kirkegaard, William James and many others. I recommend this book and the other 2 in this series, The Discoverers and The Creators.
September 11, 2017
Major task to take on - but Boorstin (mostly) pulls off this census of the Western thinkers.
November 12, 2018
Short reviews of the lives and work of truth seekers from the prophets through the philosophers to the scientists. Interesting throughout, but held together by the thinnest of threads.
November 10, 2019
Ik denk dat ik te weinig kennis bezit om dit alles te begrijpen en een plek te geven. Er waren zeker interessante stukken bij maar voor mij toch teveel geploeter en teveel saai.
March 9, 2020
Love this trilogy. An oldie but goodie
July 31, 2020
The Creators and The Seekers are loosely different but also very similar.
August 12, 2023
Took me 7.5yrs to read this one, but it was worth it. A great overview of man’s search for truth, meaning, etc.
May 26, 2025
Lists of philosophers with no takeaways from the author
August 29, 2025
Not nearly as good as The Discoverers.
November 23, 2025
First-rate history of ideas. A cogent and compelling account of the evolution of western thought.
November 25, 2025
Some still seek after discovery and creation.
March 11, 2015
The Seekers is a fascinating intellectual history of seekers throughout time. I read the book because my sister gave it to me several years ago as I was entering seminary as a way to supplement what I was learning there with philosophical thinkers from ancient history to mid-20th century.
Some of the learnings that I found in this book include:
Aristotle's paean to friendship in his Ethics: "Without friends no one would choose to go on living, though he possessed every other good thing."
The heart of Aristotle's seeking is the way of common sense - this is how it starts and how he executes it.
Aristotle's God was the unmoved mover. "The immortal neverfailing property of things that are, a sort of life as it were to all naturally constituted things." This may have been a deference to common senses - logic and evidence. And the unmoved mover was the most divine being accessible to man.
God is an eternal being, according to Aristotle, whose beset activity is his life, the best life and eternal life. That is God.
The ascetics in Christianity focused on the "steep and thorny path of eternal happiness." They devised obstacles to angelic paths. Specifically, soem like Saint Simeon Stylites sat on a pole for 39 years throughout all sorts of weather.
Thomas Aquinas argued that "in arguing with nonbelievers about faith,you should not try to reason because reason would degrade faith.
Rousseau argued that education would have to be a way of not istilling ideals of civilization but of liberating the young frmo civilization and its evils.
Kant's philopsophical system argued that every man must be treated as an end in himself and not as a menas. The doctrine of the rights of man. Every man must legislate for himself.
Hegel believed that the separateness of items in the system was illusory. That it was all connected. And hegel used the history of mankind to be a universal history. NO part of the human experience on this planet is omitted, however little may be known of the facts. Reason controls the history of the unvierse, and it is the infinite neergy of the universe.
To experience freedom for Hegel is to expereince the right to obey.
Hegel operates under the belief that history is about thesis, antithesis, synthesis.
Comte argued that monotheism ( in the 19th century) was dead adn that the notion of Providence detracted men from forming a true conception of the Law. Christianity makes us pilgrims and not connected to the world.
Absurdism is summed up in Waiting for Godot and Samuel Beckett. "Habit is the ballast that chains the dog to his vomit. Breathing is habit. Life is habit."
Acton: he said that Catholic persecution was about moral piety. Protestant persecution was about the pure inhibition of freedom of religious thought. It is about soul-corrupting persecution. Liberalism is what wishes something to be, irrespective of what is. It is essentially revolutioary. Facts must yield to ideas. Peacebaly and patiently if possible. Violently if not. He said that liberty is so holy a thing, that God was forced to permit Evil, that it might exist.
Science in the 20th century: never before had Western man known so much abotu the world or understood so little of his purpose.
Einstein: individual experience impresses him as a sort of prison and he wants to experience the universe as a single significant whole." He searched for that whole.
Some of the learnings that I found in this book include:
Aristotle's paean to friendship in his Ethics: "Without friends no one would choose to go on living, though he possessed every other good thing."
The heart of Aristotle's seeking is the way of common sense - this is how it starts and how he executes it.
Aristotle's God was the unmoved mover. "The immortal neverfailing property of things that are, a sort of life as it were to all naturally constituted things." This may have been a deference to common senses - logic and evidence. And the unmoved mover was the most divine being accessible to man.
God is an eternal being, according to Aristotle, whose beset activity is his life, the best life and eternal life. That is God.
The ascetics in Christianity focused on the "steep and thorny path of eternal happiness." They devised obstacles to angelic paths. Specifically, soem like Saint Simeon Stylites sat on a pole for 39 years throughout all sorts of weather.
Thomas Aquinas argued that "in arguing with nonbelievers about faith,you should not try to reason because reason would degrade faith.
Rousseau argued that education would have to be a way of not istilling ideals of civilization but of liberating the young frmo civilization and its evils.
Kant's philopsophical system argued that every man must be treated as an end in himself and not as a menas. The doctrine of the rights of man. Every man must legislate for himself.
Hegel believed that the separateness of items in the system was illusory. That it was all connected. And hegel used the history of mankind to be a universal history. NO part of the human experience on this planet is omitted, however little may be known of the facts. Reason controls the history of the unvierse, and it is the infinite neergy of the universe.
To experience freedom for Hegel is to expereince the right to obey.
Hegel operates under the belief that history is about thesis, antithesis, synthesis.
Comte argued that monotheism ( in the 19th century) was dead adn that the notion of Providence detracted men from forming a true conception of the Law. Christianity makes us pilgrims and not connected to the world.
Absurdism is summed up in Waiting for Godot and Samuel Beckett. "Habit is the ballast that chains the dog to his vomit. Breathing is habit. Life is habit."
Acton: he said that Catholic persecution was about moral piety. Protestant persecution was about the pure inhibition of freedom of religious thought. It is about soul-corrupting persecution. Liberalism is what wishes something to be, irrespective of what is. It is essentially revolutioary. Facts must yield to ideas. Peacebaly and patiently if possible. Violently if not. He said that liberty is so holy a thing, that God was forced to permit Evil, that it might exist.
Science in the 20th century: never before had Western man known so much abotu the world or understood so little of his purpose.
Einstein: individual experience impresses him as a sort of prison and he wants to experience the universe as a single significant whole." He searched for that whole.
February 3, 2017
A great historical reference book that introduces the reader to many of humanity's seeking minds and the meaning behind their seeking. The book is told from a European Christian perspective and so lacks the Seekers from the Golden Age of Islam between 600 AD to about 1500 AD, as well as the Seekers of the East, MesoAmerica, Russia and other places around the world. Then again since most of the books from MesoAmerica have not survived then one can not really blame Daniel J. Boorstin for his lack of coverage. This book is going in my foundation shelf because it introduced me to many a mind whose works I must now read. Daniel J. Boorstin does a great job at condensing the life and main ideas of many seekers that go all the way back to Moses (Peace Be Upon Him) and the Ancient Greeks (May God be pleased with them). I loved the book for the unity that Daniel J. Boorstin sees in the seeking of many of mankind's searching minds.
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