A country report describing the teaching of philosophy in Singapore's primary and secondary schools.

Is it possible to teach philosophy? The German philosopher G. W. F. Hegel not only answers positively to such question but also indicates what has to be taught in philosophy and how. Hegel's answer has as its source his activity in the High School of Nürnberg where he searches to establish the aims and the procedures so that philosophy may be taught to the young people. According to Hegel philosophy is always meaningful when it considers what (...) is basic for men, i.e., their life with all the questions related to it. In this way philosophy has to assume the man as its object. This ends up in the consideration of the human reality as it is so that it may be better and deeper understood through reflection and speculation. These abilities can only be obtained by the direct contact with philosophy itself in what is its specifications in its historical production or in other words, its texts. To know the history of philosophy is already to learn philosophy but such learning process needs the mediation of a teacher because one does not learn naturally nor spontaneously . To learn is to learn together with someone else.É possível ensinar filosofia? O filósofo alemão G. W. F. Hegel não somente responde afirmativamente à questão posta, como também indica o que deve ser ensinado e como em filosofia. A resposta hegeliana tem como fonte sua atividade como diretor do ginásio de Nürnberg, onde ele procura estabelecer diretrizes e procedimentos para que a filosofia seja ensinada aos jovens. Segundo Hegel, a filosofia sempre é pertinente na medida em que se manifesta sobre o que é fundamental para o homem, isto é, sobre sua vida com as questões que lhe dizem respeito. Para tanto, a filosofia deve assumir o homem como seu objeto de consideração. Isto deve resultar na apreciação da realidade humana para que a partir dela sejam levados e elevados à sua maior e melhor compreensão pela reflexão e pela especulação. Tais habilidades não são adquiridas senão pelo contato direto com a filosofia em sua especificidade na sua produção histórica, ou seja, nos textos. Conhecer a história da filosofia já é aprender filosofia, mas tal aprendizagem necessita da mediação do professor. A mediação se faz necessária, pois a aprendizagem não é natural e, portanto, não se dá espontaneamente. Aprender é sempre aprender com alguém. (shrink)

In order to theorize about the nature and scope of the philosophical reflection, philosophers have used a wide array of metaphors and analogies, from Plato's cave to Wittgenstein “family resemblances”. This paper reviews some of those metaphors and discusses what they show about the nature of philosophy, and most important, about the teaching of philosophy. It is not enough to be in favour of the presence of philosophical dialogue or to demand a specific philosophical subject matter in (...) the curriculum of formal or compulsory schooling. We need to offer a more precise description of the kind of philosophical learning we are proposing, and which educational goals we think that students can achieve if they are exposed to philosophical reflection all along their school life. Philosophical metaphors can help us to present the style of philosophical dialogue we want to implement in our class rooms in order to philosophy empower children in such a way the can think for themselves in a critical, creative and cooperative way. (shrink)

The reform of higher education continues in Ukraine more than a year; however it does not pay much attention to the changes in the teaching of philosophy. In the article the author investigates different technologies of the problem-based teaching of philosophy and its methods, substantiates the necessity of introducing such technologies in the teaching of philosophy and also shows the specifics of the application of such technologies during the teaching of philosophy at (...) the Lviv National Polytechnic University. Any problem-based education is searching and cognition of unknown. It is based on mental, volitional, and emotional activity, but, above all, it requires to be interested in the subject of study. The author stresses that problem-based education can be practiced in small student groups, which have the sufficient level of interest and motivation to study philosophy. Also, the author introduces his own classification of problem solving tasks in teaching of philosophy, which will help to apply educational material in accordance with the level of students, for example: 1) problematic situations that contribute to the formulation of new concepts (they help to generalize all previous knowledge and extract from it a new one); 2) historical and philosophical problematic situations - these are situations based on historical and philosophical material, when students compare the solution of some philosophical problem in the philosophy of a certain epoch, compare the approaches of different philosophers; 3) developmental problematic situations which help students to understand the logic of defining some philosophical concept, to understand one or another philosopher and his methods of creating concepts. (shrink)

The importance and relevance of philosophy has come to be recognized more today than ever before in recent history. In many colleges and universities philosophy is now an essential component of interdisciplinary studies. The public interest in philosophy is increasing. UNESCO’s initiatives to promote philosophy are laudable. All these call for reimagining the study and teaching of philosophy for our contemporary time − a task worthwhile for philosophy studies in ecclesiastical institutes as well.

The Philosophy Course must develop in the student a technical ability for the interpretation of different discursive modalities - analogue to the "suspended atention", in the psychoanalytical sense - which will provide the student with the experience of "intelectual mastering", of ownership, however provisional, of a "language of safety", which holds in "suspension" the "places of conversation". By breaking the barrier between genres of discourses, between different subjects and between the various interlocutors, the course of philosophy - whether (...) it is taught in the university or in high school or even outside the regular courses - may, in this way, stimulate the production of an intense, laicized dialogue among multiple subjects of enunciaton, contributing for the constitution of the "public space". Only in this way can philosophy definitely conquer its maturity among us.O curso de filosofia deve desenvolver no aluno uma habilidade técnica na interpretação de diferentes modalidades discursivas - análoga ao "exercício de escuta", no sentido psicanalítico - que lhe permita a experiência da "dominação intelectual": da posse, ainda que provisória, de uma "língua da segurança" que coloque em "suspensão" os "lugares de conversação". Quebrando a barreira entre os gêneros dos discursos, entre as diferentes disciplinas, e entre os diversos interlocutores, o curso de filosofia - seja na universidade, no ensino médio e mesmo fora dos cursos regulares - poderá, desse modo, estimular a produção de um diálogo intenso, laicizado, entre múltiplos sujeitos de enunciação, contribuindo para a constituição do "espaço público". Somente assim a filosofia conquistará definitivamente entre nós, sua madureza. (shrink)

The following statement is a report of the Committee on Philosophy in Education of the American Philosophical Association and was approved by the Association's Board of Officers in December, 1958. The Committee was composed of the following: C. W. Hendel, Chairman, H. G. Alexander, R. M. Chisholm, Max Fisch, Lucius Garvin, Douglas Morgan, A. E. Murphy, Charner Perry and R. G. Turnbull. Primary responsibility for the preparation of this report belonged to a subcommittee composed of Douglas N. Morgan, Chairman, (...) and Charner Perry. (shrink)

The reform of higher education continues in Ukraine more than a year; however it does not pay much attention to the changes in the teaching of philosophy. In the article the author investigates different technologies of the problem-based teaching of philosophy and its methods, substantiates the necessity of introducing such technologies in the teaching of philosophy and also shows the specifics of the application of such technologies during the teaching of philosophy at (...) the Lviv National Polytechnic University. Any problem-based education is searching and cognition of unknown. It is based on mental, volitional, and emotional activity, but, above all, it requires to be interested in the subject of study. The author stresses that problem-based education can be practiced in small student groups, which have the sufficient level of interest and motivation to study philosophy. Also, the author introduces his own classification of problem solving tasks in teaching of philosophy, which will help to apply educational material in accordance with the level of students, for example: 1) problematic situations that contribute to the formulation of new concepts ; 2) historical and philosophical problematic situations - these are situations based on historical and philosophical material, when students compare the solution of some philosophical problem in the philosophy of a certain epoch, compare the approaches of different philosophers; 3) developmental problematic situations which help students to understand the logic of defining some philosophical concept, to understand one or another philosopher and his methods of creating concepts. (shrink)

This country report provides an update on the status of Pre-University Philosophy education in Singapore.

This paper outlines an introductory lecture of a philosophy of science course that is composed of excerpts from John Summerville's article, "Umbrellaology." The lecture serves as an opening discussion and facilitates students’ engagement with the concept of Umbrellaology as an informal foundational introduction for students to engage in relevant issues and classical readings of philosophy of science. The author argues that is also a proven vehicle for confronting student assumptions and presuppositions about the nature of science.

For almost the whole of the first half of the nineteenth century, philosophy at Moscow University was subjected to fierce persecution at the hands of the authorities. Their aim was, evidently, to smother in the cradle any manifestation of freethinking among students, the thinking part of Russian society. It was no coincidence that philosophy was chosen as the target of persecution, because the study of this science could lead by the shortest path to reflections concerning man's place in (...) the world, the role of the social sciences, the just or unjust nature of the existing state order in Russia, and so on. What would a student who got carried away by, for instance, Socrates's ideal of inner freedom or Spinoza's pantheistic system become? For a classical police state, which imperial Russia was, that was intolerable. One need merely recall that Chaadaev, Herzen, and many other rebels had at some time studied at the university. Russia's rulers clearly had no need of such people. (shrink)