Strecthing Exercises for the Mind

Stretching Exercises for the Mind is an attempt to lure people into philosophical thinking by posing a series of questions that call for reflection and discussion. My experiences as a teacher have confirmed over and over again that if people are asked the right questions, their own reflections will produce insights. This is something I learned from Socrates. The book has three parts. Part I is a series of questions for reflection and discussion. Part II is a set of classroom-tested exercises I have used to introduce people to the process of philosophical thinking. Part III has the same questions as Part I but with the addition of the authors responses. These are in no way final answers. Their purpose is simply to continue the conversation. My goal for the book is a modest one. If even one of these questions or exercises initiates a process of questioning and inspires the thoughtful mining of experience for insights, it will have been successful.

Stretching Exercises for the Mind is an attempt to lure people into philosophical thinking by posing a series of questions that call for reflection and discussion. My experiences as a teacher have confirmed over and over again that if people are asked the right questions, their own reflections will produce insights. This is something I learned from Socrates.The book has three parts. Part I is a series of questions for reflection and discussion. Part II is a set of classroom-tested exercises I have used to introduce people to the process of philosophical thinking. Part III has the same questions as Part I but with the addition of the authors responses. These are in no way final answers. Their purpose is simply to continue the conversation.My goal for the book is a modest one. If even one of these questions or exercises initiates a process of questioning and inspires the thoughtful mining of experience for insights, it will have been successful.