I’m returning to reviewing books and suggesting resources – and this one is with huge thanks to Embiggen Books in Melbourne, whose site is always beautifully appointed with the very latest and high quality resources when it comes to… erm, embiggening the mind.

For some time I’ve been involved in supporting the Philosophy for Children methodology (so, warning – I’m biased!) – and this book has a slightly different take on that, as demonstrated on pages 7-8:

There are a number of ways of doing philosophy with children but what they all share is the use of enquiry that is open-ended – extended discussion using questioning and reasoning – for engaging classes. Some recommend enlisting the children to formulate and select questions (Philosophy for Children or P4C) and others recommend the use of carefully constructed questions that are put to the children, such as the start and further questions in this book. The Philosophy Shop can, in some cases, be used either way, but it should be noticed that many of the examples have been carefully selected for their philosophical focus. By allowing the children to choose their own questions the focus may be lost. Having said that, many more interesting philosophical questions may be discovered by the children when they formulate their own questions based on their concerns and interests. many of the more fleshed-out stories… have a good deal more going on than is covered by the prepared questions. A balance between the two approaches is probably the best, so that the focus is perserved but the participants guide the discussion within the remit of the focus.

For my part, I think this misses the important element of democracy and class interactivity that comes with children debating and clarifying a question that they will discuss further by using the P4C methodology, but I do like the way this book has a huge range of topics in a rather hefty volume. The problem is that there isn’t much support in terms of further teachers’ notes, which is something that Lipman and Sharp’s P4C did provide with their manuals. It does, however, have some great advice as to creating your own exercises and I think that this should definitely provide some inspiration for teachers when it comes to creating philosophical adventures in the classroom.

Overall, an interesting and inspiring read that is clearly aimed at children, but would generally be very useful for all ages as a introduction to and expanding critical thinking in classes. The book does recommend that teachers learn how to conduct discussions effectively – such as time management, facilitation skills – by referring to another book ( The If Machine: Philosophical Inquiry in the Classroom) and I would have included more on that in this book, along with the included ‘quick guide to running a PhiE (Philosophical Enquiry)’. I think this is a good addition to my library and although it’s not as highly recommended as (say) Law’s Philosophy Gym for my high-school and older classes, it’s encouraging to have a book that suggests creating activities for discussions using my own experiences.

A great little post worth checking out on The Browser:

How did you first become interested in philosophy?

I can remember as a very young child asking the question, “How does a baby learn to speak?” I wasn’t really satisfied with the answer my mother gave me – that you just point to things and say their names. I’m not sure I could answer the question now, but it was certainly of philosophical interest. As a teenager, I also picked out Bertrand Russell’s History of Western Philosophy from the local public library, which was one of the great inspirations for me. The library, that is, rather than the book. I think it’s the route out of suburbia for a lot of people. It opened up different sorts of reading for me. I would walk several miles to the local library and take out as many books as I could. Inevitably, sooner or later I got some philosophy books, along with all sorts of weird and wonderful ones.

Check out the whole entry, including book recommendations, over on http://thebrowser.com/interviews/nigel-warburton-on-introductions-philosophy

It’s a brand new month! And since I’m nearing the end of a week on Philosophy and books – how about a philosopher who has fascinated me for quite some time: Iris Murdoch on Philosophy in Literature, talking to Brian Magee.

Philosophy Now: Picture Book Philosophy – Thomas Wartenberg explains his method of introducing philosophy to children.
Thinking About Picture Books
P4C with Picture Books - a comprehensive guide to using picture books to begin philosophy for children
Teaching Children Philosophy

An article previously published on the James Randi website – on how books are a vital part of teaching philosophy to the younger years.

My Experiences With Philosophy For Children:  As a resource writer, high school and now university-level teacher, I owe a lot to the Philosophy for Children methodology – known as “P4C”. What makes my experience particularly interesting is that P4C hails from the USA and I am an Australian – it is more popular overseas than in its place of origin. In April, 2004, I attended a Level 2 training course in Philosophy for Children, which gave me the credentials to train teachers in the Level 1 P4C course. It was hosted at a monastery, the St Clements Retreat Centre located in a remote country town called Galong, in New South Wales.I joined fifteen other teachers for lectures and workshops run by professionals in the field like Phillip Cam (Associate Professor in the School of History and Philosophy at the University of NSW), Catherine Geraghty-Slavica (SOPHY), and sessions by a special guest overseas presenter – Dr Ann Margaret Sharp.

She was the Associate Director of the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children and a Professor of Education at Montclair State College. She was also the co-author (with Matthew Lipman and Frederick S. Oscanyan) of Philosophy in the Classroom (Temple), Harry Stottlemeier’s Discovery, Kio and Gus, Elfie and many more in the Philosophy for Children series. Dr Sharp was almost childlike with her enthusiasm – eagerly unpacking concepts and debating with a cheerful laugh – it was a little difficult to connect this person as being the author of many of the books and manuals that led us to sign up in the first place! Dr Sharp was considered one of the founders of the worldwide Philosophy for Children movement, an approach to philosophy teaching that relies on a self-correcting community of inquiry, rather than the authority of the teacher, to provoke and guide philosophic discussion.
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This is one of a handful of books that I keep with me as additional source material for discussions and inspiration, and not just for the pre-teen to teenage class.

The Philosophy Gym: 25 Short Adventures in Thinking features short chapters on key questions, peppered with interesting dialogues in a “community of inquiry” vein. By unpacking the ideas, proposing questions and introducing key thinkers and schools of thought, this is an extremely accessible and useful book when stuck for ideas for livening up a topic.

There are dialogues, philosophical stories and thought experiments, illustrations and “thinking tools” sections to explain key ideas and provide the odd diversion. Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that philosophy is an activity. The best way to get the most out of any philosophy book is to join in the activity by reading critically and thinking for yourself. Question the assumptions and unpick the arguments as you go along… if you find yourself disagreeing with me and constructing counter-arguments of your own, that’s a healthy sign.

The informal style doesn’t mean that it lacks in detail – in fact, often the questioning of assumptions that are built up are the most useful elements and can provide further food for thought. Chapters are also linked to other chapters for further reading; each chapter is listed as “warm up”, “moderate” or “more challenging”. As an introductory text to several key ideas and concepts, it’s both a useful resource and a fun, accessible read.

Some example chapters: Can We Have Morality without God and Religion? Is Creationism Scientific? Why Expect the Sun to Rise Tomorrow? What Is Knowledge? Should You Be Eating That?

Stephen Law’s official college page
Blogs at Stephen Law and Believing Bullshit
Interview on another text, The Philosophy of Christmas
Stephen Law at the BHA Conference 2011: