Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love

“Amazing stories! Incredible quotes! Sordid details! This book shows that a genius in the realm of thought can be a dummy in the land of love.” — Tom Morris, author of If Aristotle Ran General Motors

What do René Descartes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Jean-Paul Sartre have in common? That’s right: they were all hopeless failures when it came to romance. Author Andrew Shaffer explores the paradox at the core of Western philosophical thought—that history’s greatest thinkers were also the most pathetic lovers to ever walk the earth. With razor-sharp wit and probing insight, Shaffer shows how it’s the philosophers’ missteps, as much as their musings, that are able to truly boggle the intellect.

In every era of history, big brains and broken hearts have gone hand in hand—and the bigger they come, the harder they fail.

• Sordid Details: Forget stuffy lectures. Discover the affairs, betrayals, and shockingly bad decisions that prove history’s greatest minds were often terrible in relationships.
• Pop Philosophy: Explore the lives of thinkers like Sartre, Nietzsche, and Rousseau through the one lens they couldn’t philosophize their way out of—disastrous romance.
• Witty Nonfiction: Filled with razor-sharp wit, this collection of hilarious and true stories is perfect for history buffs and anyone who’s ever felt like a genius in their head but a dummy in love.
• Biographical Sketches: From Abelard’s castration to Althusser’s murderous “accident,” each short, digestible chapter reveals the romantic downfall of a different philosopher.