I am driven to Rational Discourse because I know from experience that it is possibly the best method for helping to alleviate human suffering.

Many people are in pain. They feel out of control. Sometimes they shrink away and sometimes they practically explode. Most of us want to help others become healthy, physically, mentally, and emotionally. But often our efforts get derailed when we misinterpret, ascribe motivations, or otherwise fail to communicate. Sometimes the issue is an action by an ignorant or unfaithful actor. Sometimes it is a matter of interpretation or even hypersensitivity. Since in all of these cases another human is hurting, many of us seek to help. But not all help is in the form of immediate assuaging or condemnation. We need a bigger picture to truly make society healthier.

This drive of mine has been a long time in the making. I had been a faculty advisor to a philosophy club at several colleges and a politics club at my present college. I am faculty director of a culture center. I teach political science and philosophy. I have been involved in thousands of arguments, discussions, debates, and dialogues. They were not all super productive! But I learned from them. My recent book is the product of my experience and research. It came to fruition largely due to the prodding, petitioning, imploring, and downright pestering of my students and colleagues. I am known as a Socratic educator because I thrive in dialectic with other minds. I chose to write down and codify what I have learned in the hopes of reaching a larger audience for in-person dialogues.