When I was given an assignment in my college history class to write about the values in Frederick Douglass’s life, a prominent abolitionist figure in American history, I remember reading one distinct passage in the text book. A young man once asked the great Mr. Douglass, who at the time was working hard to speak out against slavery, what he should do with himself when he grew up.

Philosophical Engineering

Mr. Douglass replied to the young man, “Agitate!”

(Modified excerpt from Self-esteem chapter of The Impression of a Good Life: Philosophical Engineering)