Your complimentary articles

You’ve read all of your complimentary articles for this month. To have complete access to the thousands of philosophy articles on this site, please

If you are a subscriber please sign in to your account.

To buy or renew a subscription please visit Subscriptions.

If you are a print subscriber you can contact us to create an online account.

You can register for a free account to have four complimentary articles per month. We will occasionally email you a newsletter, from which you can unsubscribe at any time. We do not sell personal data or otherwise disclose personal information to other organisations.

Articles

The Philosopher-Mom

Kalynne Hackney Pudner applies logic, metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and the history of philosophy to family life at large.

Plato insisted that philosophy and parenthood did not mix, and for his purposes he was undoubtedly right. The addition of children to philosophical contemplation (much less sustained philosophical dialogue) is generally toxic. But applying the methods, principles and concepts of philosophy to childrearing can be tonic – or even, it might appear, intoxicating.

I should know: with 130 students and nine children (or is it 130 children?) I’ve been dubbed the ‘Philosopher-Mom’. This nomenclature is a perversion of Plato’s own, found in the Republic, not far from his dictum about philosophy and parenthood.

…