27 March, 2006

Now Kids, Stay Away From That Hemlock



Mark Usher is probably the first person to write a children's book concerning the father of Western philosophy, Socrates. It's called Wise Guy: The Life and Philosophy of Socrates. He explains his motivation thusly:

Usher says that he wrote the book to capture the mystique of the man, not to drum in some high-minded idea that children must know more about Socrates. And yet it’s clear that he’d like to see Socrates become an antidote to the consumerist, entertainment culture that kids are bombarded with.

"(What I want them to take away) is that they should not be afraid to ask tough questions, to be interested in finding answers that convince them,” Usher says. "(I want them to) see that there are more important things in the world than iPods and television and T-shirts and brand names… there’s something about Socrates and Greek philosophy in general that privileges the soul and the mind and things that are beyond the everyday dross that we deal with… If a kid decides that it’s okay to be intellectual and they associate (that) with asking tough questions all the time and talking about ideas with other people, that’s a good thing."




Hopefully there's a disclaimer about hemlock somewhere inside.

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