Oh the Things You can Think! Dr. Seuss and Philosophy

Katy Ramsey Midterm Blog #2
Section 14

Oh the Things You can Think!

In today’s Dr. Seuss and Philosophy blog, we will explore two seemingly unrelated characters: Horton the elephant, and Immanuel Kant (found in Held’s book, Dr. Seuss and Philosophy in chapter ten).

Many people recognize Horton from the 2008 hit movie Horton Hears a Who! His loveable, carefree personality creates an amusing tale that captivates readers (and/or watchers) from the start. But in order to fully connect Horton to Kant, we first need to backtrack and look at Horton’s overlooked story Horton Hatches an Egg. 

In this story, Horton is asked by Mayzie (the bird) to sit on her unhatched egg while she takes a quick break. Being unable to say no to a friend, Horton agrees and gently sits on her egg until she returns.... which she never does. Horton soon realizes Mayzie is not coming back, but remains diligent saying, “I meant what I said, and I said what I meant, an elephant is faithful one-hundred percent.” He goes on to hatch the egg (which produces a flying elephant) and shows how good deeds will be rewarded. Here, we see the underlying lesson of being truthful and honest. This relates to Kant through his clear standpoint that truth-telling is a perfect duty. He believed you should always be honest and faithful to your word (even if there could be negative results. As a moral absolutist, Kant said our morals and obligations should be upheld without hesitations or exceptions. This clearly relates back to Horton who was diligent, faithful and honest...

So how does Horton’s tale (not tail :)) in Horton Hears a Who! relate to Kant? Through the idea of human dignity. 

In case you are not familiar, Horton’s journey starts when he hears a tiny ‘yelp’ coming from a speck on a clover. He aims to defend the small speck (as he learns there is a town called Whoville dwelling inside) and refuses to let anyone harm the unseen Whos. While many try to tell him no one can be that small, Horton stands behind the belief that “A person's a person, no matter how small!” This notion connects with Kant’s belief in ethical behavior. He can be quoted saying, “Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end and never as a means only.” (Held 125) This relates to Horton through the idea that people (all people) have a unique value and worth. Kant also believed that all persons (as opposed to his notion of non persons being ‘things’) were to be treated as people...not things.

It seems like Dr. Seuss knew what he was doing (and incorporating) when he wrote his books.

Side note: Kant and Horton differ GREATLY through the connection (or lack there of for Kant) between emotions and morality. 

Click here to see the Horton Hears a Who! movie trailer.