Posted on May 25, 2021
This is an update of my post published on May 25, 2010:
Born on this day in 1803, in Boston, Massachusetts, Emerson grew up to be one of America's most important writers and philosophers. His friends included writer / philosopher Henry David Thoreau, Bronson Alcott (father of Little Women author Louisa May Alcott), and Nathaniel Hawthorne (author of The Scarlet Letter).
Emerson is associated with the Transcendentalist movement within philosophy, and he promoted the idea of individualism—that is, the importance of independence and self-reliance rather than group-think.
“Children are all foreigners.”
“A friend is one before whom I may think aloud.”
“A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer.”“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
Dive into Philosophy
I found an interesting website about teaching kids philosophy: A philosophy professor of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, Thomas Wartenberg, created the website with discussion questions on philosophical topics raised by children's books, including short picture books. Called “book modules,” these could be a great resource for talking about important ideas.
Another website devoted to kids and philosophy is Red T Media. There are books and discussions about wondering, and Big Ideas, and wondering about Big Ideas.
Appreciate Nature
Emerson seemed to think that there was a lot of wisdom to be found in nature. Here are some quotes:
“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”Go outside today and soak up a little bit of wisdom, laughter, and nature.
“The sky is the daily bread of the eyes.”
“Earth laughs in flowers....”
Emerson: Master of the Chiasmus
I'm sure you're asking, what in the world is chiasmus?
It's a figure of speech in which there are two phrases, and the words in the first phrase are just turned the other way around in the second phrase. Here are some examples that were NOT written by Emerson:
Eat to live, don't live to eat. (Ben Franklin)
Why do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway? (from George Carlin)
You don t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great. (Zig Ziglar)
Here are some examples of chiasmus written by Emerson:
"The true philosopher and the true poet are one,
and a beauty, which is truth,
and a truth, which is beauty,
is the aim of both."
"If a man owns land,
the land owns him."
"Words are also actions,
and actions are a kind of words."
Can you write or find some other examples of chiasmus?
Also on this date:
May Revolution Day in Argentina
Independence Day in Jordan
Birthday of actor Octavia Spencer
(Varying dates)
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