Children's philosophy. Why is it important to teach children to philosophize?

Traditionally, philosophy has been assumed as a difficult and abstract discipline, typical of privileged minds and not suitable for young children. Nothing could be further from the truth. Philosophy teaches us to think, to question, to draw conclusions, to apply critical responses to everyday problems.  

And if we think about it carefully, isn't that what children do from a very young age? Children are born with an innate curiosity to know the world around them and they spend the first years of their lives wondering why things are. An attitude, not so far removed from that of the great philosophers, whose thoughts are based on the search for answers to certain questions. Therefore, children are potential philosophers, capable of questioning practically everything and of finding surprising answers to the questions that arise.

Why is it important to teach children to philosophize?

Philosophy in the classroom is considered a rote subject. Students have to learn philosophical periods, names, biographies, and thoughts of great thinkers. However, the teaching of philosophy should not be limited to repeating phrases and thoughts of others. Students need to be taught to think, ask questions, and be critical. That is, to philosophize.

Matthew Lipman's Philosophy for Children Project

This was already realized, back in the 80s, by the philosopher and educator Matthew Lipman, creator of the "Philosophy for Children" project. Lipman, a university professor, observed that his students were able to recite the entire history of philosophy by heart, but were unable to philosophize. This led him to think that it was in schools where he should begin to teach think, ask questions, and get reasonable answers. 

Based on this belief, Lipman created a series of philosophical tales intended for children between 11 and 12 years, whose objective was to teach them to be critical, to stimulate them to ask themselves questions and to try to answer them. The books reached various public schools and the philosopher studied for a year the effect of those readings on children.

What was the results?

Lipman observed that the benefits of philosophizing were reflected in all areas of knowledge. The reason, in his own words, was that «Philosophy is the discipline that raises generic questions that can serve as an introduction to other disciplines ».

Professor Lipman, managed to prove the importance of philosophizing from childhood and his project is today present in 40 countries.

Currently, other authors such as Jordi Nomen, professor of Philosophy and author of the book "The Philosopher Child", continue working in this line. Nomen affirms that “To contribute to the common good, we have to be able to think lucidly and creatively, philosophically. And that is something that is learned at school age or is not learned ”. 

The benefits of teaching children to philosophize

• Philosophy teaches children to be critical and reflective. To think for themselves from a very young age, reinforcing their autonomy and providing them with tools so that no one thinks for them.
• There are a number of aspects of philosophy that are the basis for other subjects. Philosophy teaches you to ask questions, to investigate, to formulate hypotheses and to draw conclusions.
• Develops the ability to question the veracity of facts and statements. It also generates argumentation mechanisms.
• In philosophy the error is not penalized rather, it is a source of learning. When making mistakes, children reflect on why something is not valid and look for solutions to amend it. This has a very important educational value and allows to increase the self-confidence of children.
• Philosophize improve vocabulary, writing and expressing ideas.
• It allows us to inquire about who we are and strengthens the emotional intelligence by knowing yourself better.

How to philosophize as a family

Teaching your children to philosophize is not as complicated as it seems. You just have to let flow the natural curiosity of your children and take advantage of it to transform it into a thinking tool.

It is important that we learn to speak little and listen a lot. Let your children ask you questions, but don't give a closed answer. Instead, ask what do you think? Or what do you think?

Another tool is to ask your children thought-provoking questions. There is a big difference between asking a closed question like "What did you eat at school today?" to formulate an open one such as "Can a dog laugh?"

Open questions, whether asked by parents or by children themselves, are a way to get started in philosophy, learning to think and reflect.

Children must also learn that not all questions have an answer. The normal thing is that when they ask they seek the security of the adult answer, but it is necessary to teach them that sometimes these questions have no answer or that they must find it for themselves.

Use tools like art, games or stories.

Through art, children can be invited to describe what they see and what a work transmits to them. Or they can also be encouraged to create their own work based on their imagination, ideas and thoughts.

The stories are a powerful tool for philosophizing. Why do you think the main character has acted like this? Do you think I could have done it differently? How would you have acted? We can even turn the stories around, such as the famous story of Little Red Riding Hood, which Jordi Nomen turns around and transforms into the story of Little Red Riding Hood told by the wolf. In this story, the wolf is presented as a victim rather than an aggressor, which can help us reflect with our children on whether we should always stick with the versions they tell us or should we be critical and think of other alternative responses.

Games are an essential resource for learning to do philosophy. Playing games we have fun, we learn and develop different skills and abilities. So that your children learn to philosophize, choose games that make them think, ask questions, debate, argue, listen and develop creativity.