Alice Brière-Haquet

Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) is one of the most influential—and controversial—philosophers of the twentieth century. He is mostly associated with existentialism (the study of human experience) and phenomenology (the study of consciousness), and his work was enormously influential. In this story, Heidegger is exploring the relationship between 'beings' and their environments. How much does each—the rock, the lizard, and the human—understand...

As far as he can tell, Bear is the biggest thing around. He might even be a giant! It's not long before other, smaller animals set him straight in this charmingly illustrated book about counting and relative size. Together, two walruses, three foxes, and so on, are the same size as Bear, each teasing him for foolishly thinking that there...

Epictetus (c. 50-c. 135 AD) was a Greek Stoic philosopher. He believed that philosophy should be a way of life and not just a theoretical study. In this story, Epictetus is reminding us to focus only on what we can control—our own actions—and not spend time worrying about what we can't control. Happiness can only be achieved when we accept...

Pocket Philosophy: Schopenhauer's Porcupine explores the thoughts of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860), a German philosopher known for his pessimistic philosophy. Schopenhauer was deeply cynical of love and the desire for children, believing that humans are merely animals—albeit far more unhappy due to our self-awareness. The porcupine dilemma serves as a metaphor for the challenges of human intimacy. Schopenhauer posited that, despite...

Zhuangzi (late 4th century BC) was one of China's most significant proponents of Daoism. Daoism is an ancient philosophy that strives for harmony with nature, virtuousness, and self-development. Zhuangzi's story of the dreaming philosopher and the butterfly is meant to challenge us to think about one big question: how do we really know what's real? By adapting famous animal parables,...