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

Katy Ramsey Midterm Blog #1
Section 14

Oh the things you can think!!

Dr. Seuss has always held a special place in my heart, and is certainly one of my favorite authors, so I was intrigued to come across a book titled Dr. Seuss and Philosophy written by Jacob Held. Throughout the book, Held takes different Seuss stories, books and poems and pulls out their hidden philosophical meanings. For my Mid-term blog report, I will take certain chapters (particularly ones pertaining to philosophers we have discussed in class) and fill you in on all the juicy details.

Chapter 4- Socratic Seuss: Intellectual Integrity and Truth Orientation

As you can guess, this chapter details our favorite gadfly, Socrates and how Dr. Seuss uses his ideas and customs in his writing.

Why is the truth valued? This is an interesting question and has several different answers: it has instrumental value, we desire it, it's morally sound. All of these things are true, but why do we find ourselves lying and being dishonest? Are there ways to uphold intellectual integrity? According to Held, Dr. Seuss addresses these questions in many of his stories and poems.
Starting with the ever-fabulous Green Eggs and Ham.

Held, however, prefers to call it Green Eggs and Bull (pardon my french, but the book uses the term "bullshit" during this section. I will use BS in its place). This classic story details Sam-I-Am's friend refusing to try green eggs and ham, even though he has never tried it. Here, Dr. Seuss addresses an important part of keeping intellectual integrity: being open to different ideas. Could it be, that Sam-I-Am's friend was lying to get Sam to go away? If he has never tried green eggs and ham, how could he possibly know he does not like them? Seems fishy...or as Held puts it: BS. Using BS, Sam-I-Am's friend attempts to stay closed minded and ignore trying new things...he is set in his own ways and believes his own 'truths'. Even though his friend refused him, Sam-I-Am was persistent and became much like a gadfly: Bothering his friend until he finally cracked. This story is similar to the way Socrates questioned his fellow market-placers. Even though many of them refused his notions and questions, he kept pressing them and challenging them to question their idea of truth.

Another link to Socrates is found in Dr. Seuss's poem (32 pages of rhyming excellence)  The Big Brag.

Here, a neighboring bear overhears the rabbit's boasting and takes offense. The challenge is on, and the bickering begins as the bear proclaims that his ability to smell is quite superior to the rabbit's hearing. During their endless boasting, a humble earth worm pops out of his hole and claims he "can see farther than either of the two can smell or hear. He looks straight ahead and all the way around the world right back to where the three are gathered to see "the two biggest fools...who seem to have nothing better to do/Than sit here and argue who's better than who!" (Held 46). The worms intelligence can be compared to how Socrates remained humble when critiquing the Athens experts. He sees them as braggarts that are lacking intellectual integrity (wishing to seem intelligent and the smartest around).

The wonderful world of Seuss has many more hidden philosophical meanings and relations. Stay tuned for the next blog about Dr. Seuss, Horton (my all time favorite Seussian character) and Kant.

Click Here to listen to Dr. Seuss's The Big Brag!