So please - would you care to expand on your.....philosophy?

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@rabbitearbandicoot wrote:

I remember seeing a show once - maybe Happy Days??

 

They had a guy who did nothing except lay on a table and think, then periodically he would sit up and say something, and then lay down again. Everyone else around waited for his words of wisdom. Does anyone remember the show? Was he a philosopher?

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I remember Happy Days but not the philosopher but it was a long time ago.  I think Peanuts the dog considered himself to be a philosopher?

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@the_great_she_elephant wrote:

I'd venture to say that the family unit has the very best chance of raising well-adjusted, sensible and practical young adults. It certainly did for my 3!

 

But what is your definition of the 'family unit.'  Is it strictly mum, dad and kids? Or could it be single mum or dad and kids, two mums or dads and kids, foster parents and kids or maybe grandparents and kids?

And does a child who is in daycare for up to 9 hours a day, 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year suffer in comparison with a child who is at home with a parent all the time?

 

These are the kind of questions  that article invites us to explore.

 

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Honestly, she-el? Do we really need to explore those scenarios? I would have thought that the incidences of the old 'latch-key' children syndrome was enough to alert us to the problems and practicalities of daycare/parents working long hours, etc...

I'm talking about a loving environment - mum and dad, two mums, two dads, even a single mum or dad - heck, even a loving grandparent - as I think you well know.

Parent(s) devoted to the care and nurturing of their children. Parents not solely concerned with themselves. I personally know of quite a few same sex couiples who lavish attention on their kids more than the traditional families do! And their children continue to be well-adjusted individuals, mixing in and adapting to their peers and their social environment just as well as those from 'traditional' families.

Any other 'family' scenario is anathema to the family environment concept.

And of course these selfish/uncaring/lacking in parenting knowledge families will be disenfranchised when compared to a more well-adjusted family unit.

We all have to explore them, for ourselves, and decide how we, personally, feel about them. That's what you have just done, and that's what philosophy is is all about.  It has nothing to do with  right and  wrong or telling people how to think.

Your views may be different from mine, mine may be different from somebody else's, but analizing our beliefs and understanding why we  hold them is what stops us all from becoming sheep.

I wasn't commenting on the philosphy per se. More about the fact that the article had been taken out of context and just jumped on for a few points. Without the headline it wasn't a true representation of what the article was about either. Just saying is all. 

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@alexander*beetle wrote:

I wasn't commenting on the philosphy per se. More about the fact that the article had been taken out of context and just jumped on for a few points. Without the headline it wasn't a true representation of what the article was about either. Just saying is all. 

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It is clear most people commenting didn't read the article or listen to the podcast.

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@am*3 wrote:

 

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@icyfroth wrote:

 

 

 

That's outrageous!

 

 

 

 

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Hop on board.

 

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Yay!   It's back!

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@gleee58 wrote:

You forgot the introduction to the discussion...  

 

Is having a loving family an unfair advantage?

 

 

 

Plato famously wanted to abolish the family and put children into care of the state. Some still think the traditional family has a lot to answer for, but some plausible arguments remain in favour of it. Joe Gelonesi meets a philosopher with a rescue plan very much in tune with the times.

 

 

So many disputes in our liberal democratic society hinge on the tension between inequality and fairness: between groups, between sexes, between individuals, and increasingly between families.

 

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 LIFE IS UNFAIR !   and yes there is competition for resources, attention, wealth, love, social status......... Always has been, always will be. It may be unfair, but thats human nature. Get over it and get on with it. Learn to compete or accept defeat.