In contrast to Schaeffer's own experience as a single child of a father with a third-grade education and a depressed mother, he grew up with a drive to understand reality in its complexity, including the glorious and tragic human realities. He was deeply engaged in the lives of each of his four children, continuously available to them, showing and explaining art, history, city and country life, philosophy, Roman ruins and medieval and Renaissance efforts to civilize a damaged human history. He enjoyed watching people, engaging them in conversation and showing his children the joy and tragedy of human existence. He laid out for them the philosophic foundations of societies without being idealistic about any of them.