A Bear for Every Hour:

Philosophy Made Huggable

For the Inner Adult and the Outer Child

Level I. Entry Point

The humble Teddy Bear.

It is not a status symbol, nor a mark of education or ideology. It is not considered "useful" in the instrumental sense. It simply makes one feel. Teddy Bears lower defenses. They bypass the ego, and sometimes bring back fond memories. Once a childhood comfort toy, I selected them to represent my work.

In the same manner that anyone can appreciate the beauty of a rose — a farmer or an academic — but unlike the flower, the Teddy Bear is universal. It is not bound to a place nor to a season. Portable, operating outside hierarchies, and familiar across cultures.

In my childhood and teenaged years, Teddy Bears were my companions. Not having a developed social life, coupled with being surrounded by those with love languages that did not align with mine, that combination had proven to me that stuffed animals filled in a void.

Now, in my thirties, their role has shifted:

Through the Teddy Bears, I present complex ideas in a form that does not intimidate. Subjects that are often locked behind dense literature can be explored, without the reader even realizing it. They are my Trojan Horse.

The turning point came post-CoViD-19 pandemic, when I was having difficulties finding work. Having believed in the principle that hard work would lead to stability, I found myself taking minimum wage jobs in customer service when I could. Instead, it educated me.

Working those jobs put me front-and-center with the public. That's when I became aware of a profound disconnect between disciplines, theory and lived experiences, and between those who produce ideas and those who absorb their consequences. My original intention was to write a thick book, but then I thought about it: even I don't finish reading thick books myself.

I didn't want to write just another thick book out there, nor to reinvent the wheel, so I split up my work and did the opposite: distilling down complex topics until they became approachable.

That process became A Bear for Every Hour. It is Philosophy Made Huggable.

A-L.C.L. Wagenknecht