Is it possible to be cruel to oneself?
Ellen Duthie
One of the scenes in Cruelty Bites, our first Wonder Ponder, Visual Philosophy for Children box is about self-cruelty, raising questions such as:
- Have you ever told yourself off or hurt yourself for something you’ve done? Do you remember why? Do you think you were cruel to yourself?
- Do you think people who hurt themselves should be stopped?
- Is it possible to be cruel to oneself? If so, who is the victim and who is the aggressor?
- Do you think you should punish yourself when you do something you think is bad?
These are some of the sketches illustrator Daniela Martagón drew, trying to work out what the best representation of self-cruelty might be to include the Wonder Ponder Cruelty Bites box.
Sketch by Daniela Martagón, preliminary study for Cruelty Bites by Wonder Ponder. A) Pull out or pull one's hair. B) Bang head against the wall. C) Not allow oneself any play or enjoyment. D) Insult oneself. E) Slap oneself. F) Bite oneself. G) Not feed oneself. H) Burn oneself.
And after a great deal of thinking, changing and trying it out, here is the scene that finally made it into the box:
Wonder Ponder will be launching in November 2014. Stay tuned for more tidbits about it all here. Enjoy.
Cruelty Bites, the first Wonder Ponder box was published on 20 November 2014, World Philosophy Day. The second box, I, Person, will be launching in May 2015. Stay tuned for more news and tidbits.
(c) Wonder Ponder. (An imprint of Traje de Lobo S.L.)