It was said for all the genius that Socrates possessed, Plato, and Aristotle, and all the sages who learned from him “derived more benefit from the character than from the words of Socrates.” So it was too for Zeno and Cleanthes, the two earliest Stoic philosophers. “Cleanthes could not have been the express image of…

Think of all the conversations you have as a family. All the things that come up time and time again in your house. What should we have for dinner? What do you want to do this weekend? Why are the Browns so terrible again this year? What are your grades going to be this quarter?…

Most of us are old enough to remember coming down to find our father at the breakfast table reading the newspaper. It was simply part of the routine, as it had been for generations, of the informed citizen. You read the news. Maybe you also remember them listening to talk radio in the car, or…

A father is a provider, a protector, a rule-setter, a friend. They are an educator and exemplar. They are also—whether their kids play sports or not—a coach. Because we have to coach our kids through so much in life. We coach them through new experiences, through the games of school and work and relationships, through…

Maybe you’re an introvert and your daughter turned out to be an extrovert. Maybe you always hoped for a daughter and ended up with three sons. Maybe you wanted an athlete. Or you wanted someone to hand over the family business to. Maybe, sometimes in secret, you wish you had a kid who was easier….

Aristotle worshipped them. The Christians and Stoics too.  Four simple words. Four essential tenets for living: Courage. Moderation. Justice. Wisdom. In the West, we call these the “cardinal virtues”—from the Latin word cardos, which means hinge. These are the virtues upon which the good life hinges. These are the virtues that every father is obligated…

Because of the fiery trial of the Civil War and what it came to represent, Abraham Lincoln is, to most of us, a figure of moral guidance. This naturally overshadows his almost equally unbelievable accomplishments: how did a poor boy on the frontier without formal schooling manage to teach himself to read, to teach himself…

One of the wonderful benefits of reading fiction, studies have begun to show, is that it helps cultivate empathy. By reading and experiencing the interior life of the characters on the page, we are reminded that not everyone thinks and acts like us. We are reminded that not everyone has been as lucky as we…

If your kid was struggling, you’d want them to tell you, right? If they didn’t understand something in class, you’d want them to ask the teacher. If your neighbor needed something, you wouldn’t mind if they mentioned it. If your spouse was overwhelmed and needed a hand, you’d expect them to come to you.  Okay….

All day at work you experience stress. You witness other people’s stupidity. You are the victim of their moods and emotions. Your phone pings constantly with alarming news of the world, the pangs and envies that drive social media.  What are you to do? Much in the way that politics are supposed to stop at…