What The Mind is about
The Mind is Volume II of All the Knowledge I Want to Bestow Upon My Children, a five-volume series by Dimitrios Tsakmakis written as a letter to the children he hopes to have. The sequel to Foundation, it trains young readers in logic, the Socratic method, rhetoric, propaganda awareness and emotional control under pressure — philosophy as a daily discipline, for readers 12 and up.
Before a young person can command circumstances they must command their own thinking. Through the Socratic method, the Stoic disciplines of perception, and the practical art of asking better questions, this volume trains the reader to think clearly under pressure — to see events as they are, not as fear paints them.
Socrates meets the modern schoolyard. In the author's words: “Not advice from someone who got everything right — this is what a man learned from getting it wrong. Train the mind first. The rest follows.”
Its sources are Socrates and the Socratic method, Plato, Aristotle and the Stoics, written in the tradition of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations. It is grounded in real experience: the factory that collapsed, the business betrayed, the father whose mind faded while his body remained.
Dimitrios Tsakmakis wrote All the Knowledge I Want to Bestow Upon My Children for girls and boys alike who want to grow up kalos kagathos (καλός κἀγαθός), the ancient Greek ideal of the noble and good person, and to become capable, critical-thinking, sensible adults able to cross the harsh landscape of today's world.
If you have not read Foundation yet, start there — it sets the Three Laws this volume builds on.
Inside the book
Twelve short chapters:
- The Examined Life
- Logic: The Tool of Clear Thought
- Rhetoric: How Words Persuade
- Propaganda: Recognizing the Cage
- Mental Models: How to Decide
- Emotional Control Under Pressure
- Finding Your Craft
- Relationships: What Matters
- Power: How It Works and How to Resist It
- The Art of Conflict
- Failure: What to Do When Everything Falls Apart
- Preparing for What Comes
Practice sections
The Mind by Dimitrios Tsakmakis pairs short chapters and true stories with practice sections — How to Practice the Examined Life, How to Practice Logic, How to Defend Against Rhetoric, How to Build Immunity, How to Build Your Model Toolkit, and Daily Practice: Building the Gap Before You Need It. A teen can try them alone or with a parent.
Short chapters with true stories, plus practice sections that teach the Socratic questions, logic drills and how to spot rhetoric and propaganda. (Volume I uses a different pattern: numbered Three/Four Exercises at the ends of chapters 3–13.)
How The Mind trains thinking (a first look)
In The Mind, Dimitrios Tsakmakis teaches the examined life through three questions — What do you mean? How do you know? What if you are wrong? — then builds logic, rhetoric, propaganda recognition and mental models so a teenager can think clearly before the world teaches them what to think.
The examined life (Socratic questions)
Chapter 1 opens with three questions: What do you mean? How do you know? What if you are wrong? They are a method for keeping a young person's mind their own.
Logic and fallacies
Chapter 2 covers syllogism, validity versus truth, and common fallacies — not as a textbook, but as a letter with courtroom and schoolyard examples.
Rhetoric and propaganda
Chapters 3–4 teach ethos, pathos and logos; recognizing the cage; and filter bubbles. Useful for parents worried about social media and slogans.
Mental models and emotional control
Chapters 5–6 cover first principles, second-order thinking, expected value, inversion, sunk cost, and building the gap under pressure.
Who this book is for
The Mind is written for girls and boys aged 12 and up to read themselves, in short, direct chapters with true stories, and for parents who want to hand their children something real. It is the sequel to Foundation.
For readers 12 and up
Written to be read by the children themselves. No lectures. Short, direct chapters with true stories.
For parents who want them to think before the world teaches them what to think
Gift moments: a 13th birthday, the start of secondary school, a graduation, an 18th birthday.
For daughters and sons
Girls and boys alike; kalos kagathos; capable, critical-thinking, sensible adults. Gender-neutral throughout.
Who it isn't for
Readers wanting an academic intro to formal logic or a classroom workbook of worksheets. It has practice sections, but it is a letter to read, not a textbook.
Read a page from The Mind
The most dangerous person in the room is not the one who disagrees with you. It is the one who agrees with you for the wrong reasons.
I will say that again, because you will forget it the moment someone tells you what you already want to hear. The person who disagrees with you forces you to think. The person who agrees with you lets you stop thinking. That is the trap. And most of the time, you walk into it willingly.
I have spent most of my life in rooms full of people who agreed with each other. Police stations where everyone shared the same assumptions about who was guilty and who was innocent. Business meetings where everyone nodded at the same bad idea because the boss suggested it. Family dinners where nobody questioned the stories we told about ourselves. Agreement feels like safety. It is not. It is sleep.
Socrates knew this. He walked around Athens asking people questions they did not want to answer. Not because he was annoying. Because he was trying to wake them up. The city eventually killed him for it, which tells you how much people hate being woken. But before they killed him, he said something that has lasted two and a half thousand years: “The unexamined life is not worth living.” He did not mean it as an insult. He meant it as a warning. A life you do not question is a life you do not own. Someone else owns it. And they are not looking out for your interests.
From Chapter 1, “The Examined Life”About the author
Dimitrios Tsakmakis is a carpenter's son from Athens. After school he served in the army as a special forces paratrooper, and since 2008 he has served in the Hellenic Police, including seven years in its counter-terrorism unit and work as a tactical instructor. He writes these volumes as letters to the children he hopes to have, after his father's dementia showed him how completely what a person knows can disappear. He lives in Athens with his wife.
Formats, prices and where to buy
The Mind is available from Lulu as a 183-page paperback (ISBN 9786188874329, $18.49) and as an ebook in PDF (ISBN 9786188874343) or EPUB (ISBN 9786188874374), $6.99 each.
| Format | Price | Details | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paperback | $18.49 | 183 pages · perfect bound · black & white interior · 6 × 9 in (152 × 229 mm) · published 16 Sep 2026 | 9786188874329 |
| Ebook (PDF) | $6.99 | PDF · published 25 Sep 2026 · Lulu listing | 9786188874343 |
| Ebook (EPUB) | $6.99 | EPUB, reflowable for e-readers and phones · published 25 Sep 2026 · Lulu listing | 9786188874374 |
Published in Greece · ISBN-registered with the National Library of Greece · Sold worldwide through Lulu. Greek visitors may see about €16.99 for the paperback on Lulu.
Shipping: Lulu prints each paperback on demand (usually in 3–5 business days) and ships to Greece and worldwide. The shipping method and cost are shown at checkout after you enter your address, and EU VAT is added there too.
Start with Foundation — then The Mind
Volume I: Foundation
Character through the Three Laws. Read it first; this volume is the sequel.
Volume III: The World is coming
Be the first to know when Volume III: The World is released.
Your email is sent to our newsletter service (Formspree) only. Unsubscribe any time. Privacy policy
Questions parents ask
What age is The Mind for? Can a 12-year-old read it alone?
The Mind is written for girls and boys aged 12 and up to read themselves, in short, direct chapters with true stories, and for parents who want to hand their children something real. It is the sequel to Foundation.
Do I need to read Foundation first?
Yes. Start with Volume I, Foundation. It sets out the Three Laws that the rest of the series builds on. Volume II, The Mind, is its sequel.
Is The Mind a philosophy textbook or Stoicism book?
It uses the Socratic method, logic, rhetoric and Stoic disciplines of perception, in the tradition of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations, but it is a practical letter — not an academic text.
Does it teach the Socratic method or critical thinking?
Yes. The Mind teaches the examined life through three questions — What do you mean? How do you know? What if you are wrong? — then builds logic, rhetoric, propaganda recognition and mental models so a teenager can think clearly under pressure.
Is it for daughters as well as sons?
Yes. Dimitrios Tsakmakis wrote the series for girls and boys alike who want to grow up kalos kagathos (καλός κἀγαθός), the ancient Greek ideal of the noble and good person, and to become capable, critical-thinking, sensible adults able to cross the harsh landscape of today's world.
What formats is it available in?
The Mind is available from Lulu as a 183-page paperback (ISBN 9786188874329, $18.49) and as an ebook in PDF (ISBN 9786188874343) or EPUB (ISBN 9786188874374), $6.99 each. Prices are in US dollars; Lulu may show your local currency and adds VAT at checkout.
Is the book available in Greek?
Not yet. The series is written in English. A Greek-language series will follow once all five English volumes are published. Until then, The Mind is a good fit for Greek readers 12 and up who read English, and for parents who want to read it with them.
Do you ship to Greece and worldwide?
Yes. Lulu prints each paperback on demand and ships it to Greece. Lulu's shipping calculator estimates that one copy starts at around €6 by tracked mail and arrives in about 3–4 weeks. Faster tracked options cost around €27–29. The final price, including VAT, is shown at checkout once you enter your address. The ebook downloads immediately.
When is Volume III coming out?
Volume III, The World, is coming, but there is no release date yet. Be the first to know when Volume III: The World is released. Volumes I and II are available now.
Does the book include exercises or activities?
Yes. The Mind includes practice sections such as How to Practice the Examined Life, How to Practice Logic, How to Defend Against Rhetoric, How to Build Immunity, How to Build Your Model Toolkit, and Daily Practice: Building the Gap Before You Need It. A teen can try them alone or with a parent. It is a letter to read, not a worksheet workbook.