There are a couple horses that live near our house and hang out in the pasture by the road. Occassionally my kids will comment on whether they look happy, sad, hungry, cold or even bored. When they saw the horses while it was snowing, they worried they were too cold. If we drove … [Read more...] about Can We Truly Empathize With Animals?
philosophy
Descartes Would Lose It After Seeing This Window
Everyone is familiar with the phrase, "seeing is believing." But sometimes the things we see can totally throw us off, make us do a double-take or leave us speechless. No, I'm not talking about scenes from Real Housewives. I'm referring to those times when our senses (see, hear, … [Read more...] about Descartes Would Lose It After Seeing This Window
What I Learned Reading Plato With My Kids
Philosophy. Just the word sounds a little overly pretentious. When I was a kid I thought philosophy was about creating purposefully vague statements that somehow included deep meaning. I remember hearing the paradox: "Can God create a rock so big that even he can't lift it." To … [Read more...] about What I Learned Reading Plato With My Kids
Can Kids Escape the Ship of Theseus Paradox
As a kid I was fascinated by paradoxes and would daydream about them until my mind brought me back to skateboarding. In fact, I used to think solving a paradox was the primary job of a philosopher. Now that I'm older and I have kids, I sometimes like to tease them with variations … [Read more...] about Can Kids Escape the Ship of Theseus Paradox
What Can Plato’s Ring Tell Kids About Morality?
A couple years ago I was walking down the driveway with my 5 year old daughter to get the mail. As we walked she looked down and noticed 4 or 5 brightly colored Skittles in one of the concrete joints. She stopped and stared down for a minute and then looked up at me. I knew … [Read more...] about What Can Plato’s Ring Tell Kids About Morality?