Voltaire

I got this in an email today:

Voltaire was one of history's great skeptics. He was skeptical of the revealed truth of the Church, skeptical of the divine right of kings, skeptical of the wealth and position of the aristocracy, and skeptical of the "wisdom" of the common man.

I'd add to the list my skepticism about the wisdom of experts.

And I love this quote from the email:

"Doubt is an uncomfortable position," said Voltaire, "but certainty is an absurd one."

Doubt and uncertainty is directly related to unschooling. I don't know the meaning of life. I don't know what the future is going to bring. I don't know what kind of technology and society the kids are going to encounter in another 5 or 10 or 15 years.

All I have are hints and incomplete answers. One of these answers is that, generally speaking, there are conditions which make a human being happier: when their survival needs are met, when they are in a Flow activity and when they are engaged in something that is imbued with meaning for them. I think that our kids' happiness matters. All that we can really do is facilitate their pursuit of happiness, which comes from helping them develop their own sense of who they are and discover their own Flow and Meaning activities.