In Why We Are in Need of Tails, we learn that our most nuanced skills for communication were lost when we lost our tails - or so the story goes. Huk and Tuk explore ways to compensate for this loss by developing polyphonic listening or by entering into dialogue with each other rather than carrying on a monologue. And they learn that telling tales helps connect us when actual tails no longer can.
In Why We Are in Need of Tales, Part I, Huk and Tuk discuss six different picture books by Arnold Lobel and Leo Lionni and explore the intriguing questions the tales inspire, gaining a new understanding of the deep connection we have to each other and the world we live in.
In Why We Are in Need of Tales, Part II, Huk and Tuk discuss another important aspect of telling tales: making dreams come alive. Here they discuss six more tales by Arnold Lobel and Leo Lionni and learn that we cannot live without the dreams that our imaginations create. Dreams give us hope and imagination and - with the help of courage and determination - allows us to create extraordinary things.
Doing philosophy with children inspired Maria daVenza Tillmanns to write these whimsical, playful stories about profound, weighty ideas to help recreate the bonds of meaningful communication with one another - the young and not so young alike.
Also available in hardcover.
Reviews
"Since evolution has ordered that we – ordinary people – live without tails, it is difficult for us to convey to the Other the full depth of our feelings and thoughts. We can be close, but at the same time we are always missing something. When we cannot connect with each other, we feel isolated and distanced from the Other. But the author of these magic books seems to know a remedy to fix it. Allegories, metaphors, images come to our aid, i.e. everything that fairy tales are based on. And understanding becomes possible. Allegory, imaginative vision is what connects us with invisible tails to our common invisible roots. Through this subtle subconscious connection, we feel unity with each other, because with these tails-fairy tales we are all rooted in nature and in culture."
—Sergey Borisov, “Philosophical Stories for Children and Adults”: Tillmanns, Maria daVenza (2020-2021), Why We Are in Need of Tales
Journal of Humanities Therapy, Humanities Institute, Kangwon National University, Korea 2022, vol.13-1, pp.159~168
https://doi.org/10.33252/jht.2022.6.13.1.159
ISSN 2765-2653(Online)
Author(s)
Maria daVenza Tillmanns
Maria teaches a “Philosophy with Children” program in underserved San Diego schools in partnership with the University of California, San Diego. In 1980, she attended Dr.