Every Atheist Parent Needs: Crash Course Philosophy

I’ve talked to you before about Crash Course Kids, the junior offering from John Green’s awesome Crash Course franchise. Today, though, I want to tell you about a new series of videos currently underway on the Crash Course channel. Hank Green, John’s even nerdier brother and one half of the Vlog Brothers is our entertaining, adorable and brilliant guide through the word of philosophy on Crash Course Philosophy.

Hank and John Green found success when they became the first extremely popular vloggers on YouTube. Eventually, they expanded on their success, founding VidCon, SciShow, Mental Floss, Crash Course, and so much more. These two men, it appears, are hell-bent on educating an entire generation of kids, all by themselves. I’d scoff at the mere idea that two men could manage to educate the world, but it appears John and Hank are actually doing a damned good job.

There are many different courses on the Crash Course channel, including Chemistry, Literature and Astronomy, and now, they’ve just begun posting the latest offering, Crash Course Philosophy.

As most atheists know already, philosophy seeps into nearly every aspect of life and can teach students how to reason things out in their minds. It’s different from other subjects in that it doesn’t teach you what to think, but rather, helps shape how you think. It can also help to develop debate skills and the basic ability to simply defend one’s position on any given topic.

It’s never an easy thing to get teens interested in philosophy. Now that Hank Green is hosting Crash Course Philosophy though, it just got a whole lot easier. The videos are short, easy to consume and fun. Hank has personality and you can’t help but just want to hear him out. While the series has not finished yet, it’s already made my lunchtime viewing list, just after Dave Rubin. If you have a teen who is beginning his or her studies in philosophy, or if you just want to introduce philosophy to your kids, this series will definitely do the trick.

Philosophy is a great tool on the road to raising critical thinkers, but aside from that, the study of it also includes much of our history as civilized human beings. It teaches us how we came to understand most of what we understand, it teaches us how to approach topics both just for thought and also debate. It’s a subject that attempts to tackle some of life’s most difficult questions, and teaches students that it is okay to not have the answers.

Get your teens into philosophy with Crash Course Philosophy, or just watch it yourself. Watching now as an adult, I can safely say that my philosophy class in college would have been way better if Hank Green had taught it. Thanks to this new video series, though, it’s never too late to take philosophy with Prof. Green.

If you like what I do here and want to support my work, you can chip in here or become a member here.

#education