Philosofathergizer (phi-los-o-father-gizer) is 📝John Zdanowski's word for a dad imagining his small place in the universe as a lifelong student of philosophy, exploring a path for his children.
The word folds "father" into a playful form of "philosophizing." It grew out of an earlier coinage. After college, John and his friend Dave Tisdale, one of the few liberal arts students John met from 📝Clarkson University, became good friends while working near each other at 📝General Electric. One evening after work at Faegan's Cafe & Pub, next to 📝Syracuse University, the two named their habit of exploring deep thoughts about reality "Philos-o-folla-gizing": an academic pursuit in which folly, or having fun, is the goal. Once they had children, the term evolved into Philosofathergizer.
The word describes a stance rather than a credential: philosophy practiced with a sense of play and with the next generation in mind. John uses it as a self-description and as a collection for his writing on thinking and philosophy.
Our pronouns are 📝We/Us/Our and we are all mothers and fathers and sons and daughters in a stream so long we have “ancestors so strange we wouldn’t want them as pets,” as Sam Harris puts it.