My Own Good Daemon

Contents

Treasure

Muses on family life with Andre Dubus, Jr., the Buddha, and David Lodge.

Fish Story
Contemplates the links between angling and faith using New Testament fish tales.

On the Imagined Similarities Between My Father and Satan
Probes Milton’s take on Satan to come to a better understanding of his father.

If You’re Happy but Don’t Know It
Reflects on happiness with the help of philosophers through the ages and annoying children’s music.

Overnight
Recalls spending the night at the hospital with his mother after her mastectomy.

Floating Fire
Explores memories of his mother with the help of Wordsworth and Dostoevsky.

My Own Good Daemon
Delves into parenting and coaching with the Stoics, Nietzsche, and Kierkegaard.

Night Crawlers
Recollects his brother’s life and death with the help of Robert Frost and The Grateful Dead.

I’m Not the Man, I Didn’t Suffer, I Wasn’t There
Considers various ways that psychologists and philosophers have viewed the concept of empathy.

Back to School with Sisyphus
Analyzes approaches to teaching with the help of Existentialist philosophers.

The Future Perfect

Examines coaching baseball with the help of Jesus, Walt Whitman, and Eugen Herrigel.

Penultimate Concerns

Weighs his faith in light of the New Testament story of Mary and Martha.

Willy Nilly
Views the concept of will through the lenses of various philosophers and psychologists.

Into the Graveyard, Endlessly Walking
Mulls over mortality during the time of Covid with the help of several poets.

Eudogmonia: The Flourishing of Walter

Analyzes the place occupied by his dog Walter at the confluence of Eastern and Western Philosophy.