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.