Philosophy for Children: Metaphilosophy
Summary | Metaphilosophy is the philosophical study of philosophy itself. In the case of Philosophy for Children, it is the reflection on the philosophical dimension of the proposal of introducing philosophical inquiry in grades K-8 . For centuries, the Western philosophical tradition has largely rejected the possibility of philosophical reflection in pre-youth times. Those who argue the possibility of true philosophical inquiry with 4 to 5 years old children, need to prove that the dialogues in the classroom were philosophical in both content (children could talk about classical philosophical topics, like truth, beauty or goodness) and procedure (they can offer sound reasoning in their dialogues). The fundamental question are: can children do philosophy? Are dialogues with children in educational settings really philosophical? What concept of philosophy do we use when we talk about philosophy for children? Do teachers who facilitate or lead a philosophical discussion need a sound philosophical background? |
Key works | Key works. There are various seminal works that open the discussion. Of course, Lipman’s books Harry Stottlemeier's Discovery (N.J.: IAPC, 1974) and, together with Ann Sharp, Philosophical Inquiry. (Instructional Manual to Accompany Harry Stottlemeier's Discovery) (N.J.: IAPC, 1975) started the discussion. Very early a metaphilosophical discussion was triggered with the monographic issue of Metaphilosophy, v. 7, no. 1, Jan. 1976, edited by Terrell Ward Bynum, titled: What is philosophy for children?—An introduction. In a footnote, they explained: In the present volume, “Philosophy for Children” means philosophy for children in grades K‐8. Two other books, Philosophy in the Classroom, with Ann Margaret Sharp and Frederick S. Oscanyan (1st edition, N.J.: IAPC, 1977) and Growing Up With Philosophy, ed. with Ann Margaret Sharp (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1978), offered a metaphilosophical reflection about the program. In 1980, Gareth Matthews published another very important book, Philosophy and the Young Child (Harvard, 1980). All those publications can be considered as the seminal works, and since then, many other articles and books have sustained a discussion with those who still are doubtful about, or just deny, the possibility of a philosophical reflection by children. And it is also a subject of ongoing reflection for all those committed to the dissemination of philosophy with/for children. |
Introductions | [BROKEN REFERENCE: LIPCATw]#MATPAT |
- Philosophy for Children: Aesthetics (38)
- Philosophy for Children: Community of Inquiry (86)
- Philosophy for Children: Educational Theory and Methods (83)
- Philosophy for Children: Ethics (94)
- Philosophy for Children: Religion and Spirituality (15)
- Philosophy for Children: Political Philosophy (26)
- Philosophy for Children: Reasoning (62)
- Philosophy for Children: Specific Philosophers (28)
- Philosophy for Children: Introductions (42)
- Philosophy in Schools (167)
- Philosophy for Children, Misc (61)
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Editorial team
General Editors:
David Bourget (Western Ontario) David Chalmers (ANU, NYU) Area Editors: David Bourget Gwen Bradford Berit Brogaard Margaret Cameron David Chalmers James Chase Rafael De Clercq Ezio Di Nucci Barry Hallen Hans Halvorson Jonathan Ichikawa Michelle Kosch Øystein Linnebo JeeLoo Liu Paul Livingston Brandon Look Manolo Martínez Matthew McGrath Michiru Nagatsu Susana Nuccetelli Giuseppe Primiero Jack Alan Reynolds Darrell P. Rowbottom Aleksandra Samonek Constantine Sandis Howard Sankey Jonathan Schaffer Thomas Senor Robin Smith Daniel Star Jussi Suikkanen Lynne Tirrell Aness Kim Webster Other editors Contact us Learn more about PhilPapers |