A common idea is that philosophy leads to nothing so it is not a particularly important subject. But can you really do nothing? Well, that question is explored in the book Let’s Do Nothing by Tony Fucile. Thomas Wartenberg uses this picture book to suggest ways to explore the problem with doing nothing and on the way he shows the problem with suggesting that philosophy leads to nothing. And the idea about nothingness will take a different and interesting course.
Some book you return to over and over again. The words invite you into new directions and they inspire new thoughts each time. The book “A Sneetch Is A Sneetch and Other Philosophical Discoveries” belongs to that class of books. You never really finish reading the book and the ideas inspire you to try new things and challenge your thinking.
The message in the book may not have surprised me – I have regarded children’s books as an inspiration for thinking about puzzling things. Philosophy is about things that are often taken for granted and we assume that we fully understand them. Yet if we take time to reflect upon the idea, a completely new page opens up. Wartenberg says that many picture books have “genuine philosophical puzzles that intrigue children and adults alike”. Children are natural-born philosophers and that it is important to dig deeper into children’s’ answer. This book opens up your eyes to how mind-blowing it can be to discuss with children.
Why? Why? Why? Children love to ask questions but they do not always time their questions. If you take time to reflect upon their tendency to ask questions you realize that the annoying tendency are a characteristic that children share with philosophers who also love to ponder over baffling and mysterious aspects of life. With humor and great insight, Wartenberg explores thoughts found in 16 picture books. A wide range of questions and ideas are discussed and each book highlights a specific philosophical issue. It is a challenge to write for parents and teachers about philosophy and Wartenberg does an excellent job in convincing the reader that a child-like wonder can be fun and have great depth. Warmly recommended.
Go here to read a blog post about one of the picture books discussed by Wartenberg
