Oddly, very few books exist to help teachers foster philosophical enquiry among high schoolers. Of these few, David Birch’s Provocations is a standout, distinguished by the originality, breadth and richness of its material.

By Andrew Taggart

In the middle of September, I left my desert home in Southern California in order to teach a weeklong course at Kaos Pilots, a social entrepreneurship school based in Aarhus, Denmark, on the way of cultivating discipline lightly. Penciled in on the schedule for Wednesday morning was a learning session which I had sheepishly, yet accurately, entitled, ‘Not to Be Announced.’

 

By Oliver Leech

Surrounded by the vast collection of philosophy texts in Blackwell’s book shop in Oxford, I asked the assistant where I could find some material on the philosophy of history. ‘Do you mean the history of philosophy?’ he replied. An understandable response since the history of philosophy is a premier league topic with shelves of books to choose from whereas the philosophy of history is at best half way down the next division. Indeed, since it overlaps with historiography, books about it tend to be stocked in the history section.

 

By Tim Raynor, author of

Life Changing: A Philosophical Guide

Stoic philosophers were the first to see how our judgments and beliefs shape our emotional lives. They understood how an irrational judgment could turn an isolated incident into an all-consuming passion. This idea is commonplace among psychologists today. It forms the basis of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), a popular and effective form of psychological treatment. CBT shows us how to redress and correct the irrational judgments at the basis of distressing and disturbing experiences. By changing our thinking, we can change how we are affected by life itself.