11/02/2013

Alongside all the issues regarding philosophy, one main issue is to write philosophical books for children- this is what the westerners have started to do. A couple of years ago, someone brought me a book that I read some parts of it. It was about philosophy, but was proper for children. This book is a very awesome book on philosophy. I cannot recall the name, but I have it in my book collection. We need such kind of books. Our children’s minds are growing philosophical. Fortunately the dynamism of our society and system has led to the growth in rationality of the minds. Our young people actually ask questions. This is an auspicious thing that more and more questions are being asked; however we need to be prepared to answer. The sense of inquisitiveness is growing and is being transferred to lower generations. I have a young grandchild who is about 2 and a half years old and cannot talk much yet. A few days ago, there was a table here and he was trying to overturn it. I told him not to do so. He asked: Why? I enjoyed how he asked why; why shouldn't I overturn it? He looked for a reason. Then he tried to claw another kid, I told him: Don’t do that dear! He asked: Why? This questioning is a very important thing. This is a growing trend [among kids]. When he gets ten years old, more questions will cross his mind; why?why?why? When this child turns 18 or 19, more serious questions will
come to his mind. We should have answers for all these questions. Ayatollah Khamenei, 11/02/2013