Foresight Institute Radio

What if parenting held the keys to civilization’s long-term flourishing?

In this deeply personal and philosophically rich episode of the Existential Hope podcast, we sit down with Dr. Aaron Stupple – physician, thinker, and author of The Sovereign Child. Drawing from the rationalist traditions of David Deutsch and Karl Popper, and grounded in the parenting philosophy of "Taking Children Seriously," Aaron explores what it means to treat children as full moral agents from birth.

From screen time and sugar to sleep and sovereignty, Aaron shares how applying rigorous epistemology to parenting transformed his relationship with his children — and how it might transform the future of civilization itself.

• Applying Popperian epistemology to parenting
• Why children are not "pre-persons" but full moral agents
• Moving beyond control vs. permissiveness
• Real-life examples: screens, food, bedtime, and education
• Parenting as civilizational infrastructure for a better future

Full transcript, list of resources, and art piece: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcasts

Existential Hope was created to collect positive and possible scenarios for the future so that we can have more people commit to creating a brighter future, and to begin mapping out the main developments and challenges that need to be navigated to reach it. Existential Hope is a Foresight Institute project.

Hosted by Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers

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