On 10/21/02 5:35:00 PM, James ( Jim)
Cady wrote:

>A question of morals. Should
>I introduce
>a pair of girls ( one is 13
>years old, her
>sister is 12 in a month ) to
>Descartes'
>Discourse, and Meditations,
>Miciavelli's
>The Prince, and SunTsu's The
>art of war?

I think context is important--are you
recommending the text as "words to live
by", "interesting ideas" or "a bad
example." Recommending Machiavelli as
"words to live by" (e.g. "It is better to be
feared than loved.") might not be such a
good idea. Sun Tzu is good for thinking
about healthy competition, but if
recommended as a philosophy of life
could lead to hyper-competativeness. Of
the three I'd think Descartes has the
fewest possibilities for dammage. Again,
the spirit in which the reading is
recommended and your discussion
about it is key.

Prof. Borrowdale