So what you’re saying is that young children are actually capable of discussing some of the philosophical issues that are typically reserved for first or second year undergraduates at university? He is president of SOPHIA, the European Foundation for the Advancement of Doing Philosophy with Children and a Visiting Research Associate at Kings College London. If you want to get children involved in thinking about philosophy, most philosophers will start with a thought experiment of one kind or another. A 1,000-year-old text at the foundation of modern medicine and biology. They’re certainly capable of approaching abstract concepts and odd abstract questions, like, ‘Does the hole in this doughnut exist?’ I can take that question to pretty much any age group, and they will become quite interested in it — at least until you get to age 12-13 when suddenly those abstract pursuits and ideas become less interesting. Exactly, Stephen puts it into a frame within the book which works really nicely – it’s nice to get the kids thinking about the paradox before you reveal that it’s actually just a tv show. Philosophy helps you know where to place your faith. Spend 10 minutes on this. From. You successfully shared the article. He wrote lots of books on logic, so what you get is properly informed problems. There’s no easy way through the rocks between Scylla and Charybdis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel, Through the Looking Glass, are full of far-fetched scenarios which are entertaining in themselves, but also raise interesting questions, suggest paradoxes, dilemmas and complications in thinking things through. He starts off by asking her what her name means. Culture and Diversity. Character and Values. On the whole they don’t have the nomenclature, so it’s rather nice, with Stephen Law’s book, that they can go off and read on their own and come back having learnt this and then apply it in the context of these dialogic sessions they’re having. The Baby-Sitters Club Graphix #1-7 Box Set: A Graphix Collection. Presumably you have the children all listening eagerly and then you get into the dialogue with them about it. Do names mean anything?’ And see what they say. What’s also clear is that these questions, like ‘what is fairness?’, are relevant to children. The Complete Philosophy Files Some books are just so perfect for gifted children they can't be passed up. If someone came up with a definition — say of justice, beauty or courage — then they would have to come up with an example that might refute that. 2e) In summary, the structure of the lesson is the following: start with the introductory bike example (see below). You can find all books and activities at The Scholastic Store Online . On the other hand, they might think it’s not fair because fairness is to do with equal share and equal treatment. Are there any possible problems with this account? I tell it very much in the oral tradition, I tell the story to the class. The Odyssey My job is to try and find a way of drawing them all into the conversation. It just so happens that I have a chapter in my new book devoted to this. At the end of the story you start with a simple question and ask, “Were Frog and Toad brave?” It connects to the story in a concrete way by referring to the characters and the concept. But my job over time is to bring them out of themselves and get them to join in with the group. This is the great thing about using books with children, very often the question you need to ask is already there in the book and all you need to do is stop and put it to them.