T C P S J M L: HE Ultivation OF Hilosophical Ensitivity ANA OHR ONE
T C P S J M L: HE Ultivation OF Hilosophical Ensitivity ANA OHR ONE
T C P S J M L: HE Ultivation OF Hilosophical Ensitivity ANA OHR ONE
Introduction
Over the last several years I’ve been thinking more seriously about what is required to teach philosophy well. In the
fifteen years during which I’ve been involved in pre-college philosophy, the pace of introducing philosophy into schools
in the United States has been very slow. Over the last five years, however, there has been growing interest and engagement
in the field, with new programs starting at many colleges and universities around the country. In this time, I’ve had several
conversations with people working in the field about whether philosophy could one day be offered in every school in
every state.
My excitement about the growing interest in pre-college philosophy is tempered by a concern and a question. My
concern is that it is not clear (to me, at least, and I think to many or most people) who is going to teach all of these
philosophy classes. My question is: What kind of training is needed to teach philosophy and do it well?
At this point, most of the people involved in this field are either philosophy faculty or graduate students, or high
school teachers with backgrounds in philosophy. Most pre-college teachers have had little or no exposure to philosophy
because, of course, for the most part, people educated in the US are not introduced to philosophy in any formal way unless
they take a philosophy class in college. Although the philosophy faculty and graduate students interested in this field are
often passionate about it, only a small minority of professional philosophers is drawn to this work, and those of us who are
interested can only teach so many pre-college classes. If pre-college philosophy classes are to be more widely available,
then we must look to K-12 teachers.
In this light, my question about what kind of training is needed to teach philosophy becomes a more critical one. A
short and incomplete response is that what teachers need to teach philosophy well varies, depending on the grade level of
their students. I believe that more training is needed for teachers seeking to teach philosophy in upper-level classrooms.
High school students, for example, and especially seniors and juniors, are capable of analyzing much more complex
philosophy questions and engaging in the study of primary texts. Therefore, the philosophy teacher who has been exposed
to philosophical texts and trained philosophically is more likely to be successful at involving high school students in
philosophy discussions.
Elementary school teachers, however, also need philosophical training if they are successfully to facilitate philosophy
sessions with their students. There have been several recent publications that have suggested that elementary school
teachers do not need to know any philosophy to teach it. I disagree. Although introducing philosophy to younger children
does not typically involve reading primary philosophical texts, but rather focuses on inspiring conversations among the
children about philosophical ideas, nevertheless the teacher leading these discussions must have both a clear sense for how
to identify a philosophical question and the ability to recognize the philosophical content of the students’ statements and
questions. To be able to monitor a philosophical dialogue and support its progress, a pre-college philosophy teacher of any
grade must have sufficient training to be able to identify the philosophical substance and assumptions inherent in student
remarks and the logical relationships between various students’ statements.
It is my view that a foundational skill for teaching philosophy at any level is the development of what I am calling
“philosophical sensitivity,” which I define as the capacity to engage in identification of and reflection about the larger
questions that underlie most of what we think we understand about the world. I have written and spoken elsewhere at
greater length about this topic, and my aim here is simply to provide an introduction to the subject.
1. The group is engaged in a structured, collaborative inquiry aimed at constructing meaning and acquiring understanding
through the examination of philosophical questions or concepts of interest to the participants;
2. There is a consensus of what historically has been called “epistemological modesty,” an acknowledgement that all
members of the group, including the teacher, are fallible, and therefore hold views that could end up being mistaken;
3. The teacher demonstrates a reticence about advocating his or her own philosophical views, and models a comfort with
uncertainty since there are no final and agreed-upon answers to most of the questions being explored by the CPI; and
4. Participants refrain from using technical philosophical language or referring to the work of professional philosophers to
construct their arguments. This encourages the group to focus on exploring the questions themselves and not the past or
current history of the subject among philosophers.
The teacher guides the CPI without attempting to control it, a delicate balance between helping students achieve
philosophical clarity and depth and refraining from imposing on the conversation the teacher’s own preferences for subject
matter. Being able to discern which issues are philosophical and which are not is particularly important for ensuring the
philosophical integrity of the CPI; that is, that it principally engenders philosophical conversations and not something else.
In any pre-college philosophy session there will be periods of time when the conversation turns away from the
philosophical into examples from science, say, or stories about personal experience. The point is not to prohibit such
examples or stories, as they can be useful in the context of exploring a particular issue of philosophy, but to explore only
those relevant to the conversation. The aim is to ensure that the discussion is primarily philosophical, as opposed an
opinion gathering, group therapy or other kind of exercise.
Successful philosophy teachers have their own individual approaches for motivating this kind of philosophical
community, but all are enthusiastic about philosophical inquiry, recognize where particular conversations might be
headed, see critical junctures where the posing of a provocative question might motivate the discussion, and help students
define clearly and examine carefully the questions they wish to explore.
The thing that meant most to me, the most valuable lesson I learned, came from visiting a session with a group of elementary
students. I was really amazed at how well these children were able to discuss with each other. They came up with fascinating
questions and well thought out responses; ones that were similar to the ideas that would be presented in our classroom. After
that session I found new value and respect for a child’s intellect. I work with children so I know they are quite intelligent but I
never really imagined holding a philosophical conversation with one.
Philosophical conversations with children engender respect for children’s ideas and perspectives, and allow adults to
engage with children in an endeavor that involves thinking together. This is quite different from the traditional teacher-
learner model: here the teacher is no longer the expert, but rather a co-inquirer who seeks with his or her students to
explore philosophical questions.
I believe that attentiveness to the philosophical dimension of life is natural for most children. They wonder about the
significance of being alive, the nature of identity, the meaning of friendship and love, how to live good lives, and whether
knowledge is possible. Yet continuing to wonder about these issues does not become part of the fabric of most adult lives.
I think that this is a loss, and that encouraging children to engage in ongoing and critical philosophical reflection can be an
important gift. Probing the assumptions that underlie what we say and do and critically analyzing the meaning of our
experiences involve developing deep reasoning skills. When we engage in philosophical inquiry with children, we
provide them with some important faculties for taking control of their futures and developing the confidence to build
meaningful lives. Thinking about philosophical questions pushes us to remain alive to the profound mysteriousness of the
human condition. This awareness can enhance the depth and richness of all of our lives.