parents

Who are you? (Part II)

I tried pointing out in Who are you? (p.504) how civilization plays a major role in educating its citizens as to who they are and who they should be. This contrasts sharply with the natural intuitive way that our ancestors acquired a secure sense of self. Religious stories, central to every civilization, are humanity’s attempt […]

Science’s Baby Steps

Every now and then, I’m struck by the “Well… duh” discoveries science finally arrives at. My “Well… duh” relationship with science began early. As a child who enjoyed playing with fire, I discovered that putting ice or cold water on a burn worked great. Even so, the standard first aid treatment at that time was […]

A Tao of Parenting

Breeding, and the parenting that follows, are the most significant things we do in life; without this, none of us would be here. Most would agree that the best gift you can give children is raising them as balanced and wisely as possible. This has become more daunting in civilization’s post Agricultural Revolution environment. Gone […]

The Family Purse

The money in our family is family money… really. It is one big pot that each takes from as needed. This is radically different from the independent model my parents used to raise me. I did chores for which I got a salary. I suppose the idea here is to prepare their child for the […]

Significant Others

There is a curious thing I notice in the life of my two sons. They are not chasing girls like I was at their age. They aren’t gay either, so what gives? I look back on my youthful lust and see a disconnected lad looking for companionship that my independent upbringing never fully provided. All […]

Innately Ethical

Chapter 38’s A man of the highest virtue does not keep to virtue and that is why he has virtue served as a model for raising my sons. Yet, given their Taoist upbringing, it is odd to see how rigidly law abiding they are at times. For example, we headed down the street to order […]