How to Talk About Philosophy with Little Kids?

If your young child asks โwhatโs the meaning of life?โ you might laugh it off (how cute!) or freeze in panic (where do I even begin?).
Itโs tempting to dismiss these big questions as too advanced for kids. Plato and Aristotle both believed children werenโt ready for philosophy. In fact, they didnโt think people were ready to study philosophy until they turned 30.
But children know otherwise. They ask big questions like โWhy are we here?โ and โWhat does it mean to be fair?โ and โWhy do we keep feeding the cat, even though she never says thank you?โ
American researcher and author Jana Mohr Lone has taught philosophy to young children for more than 20 years. As one second-grade child told her:
[โฆ] children donโt know as many things about the world and so our minds are more free to imagine.
This openness makes children natural philosophers. By encouraging these conversations, you can help them grow into curious, thoughtful and reflective individuals.
How can parents do this?
3 steps for philosophical dialogue
One of the difficulties of engaging in philosophy is people may be unfamiliar with how it works.
But you can have a philosophical discussion by following three steps:
- reflection
- generalisation
- abstraction.
When your child asks a deep question like โWhatโs the meaning of life?โ you donโt need to have the answer, you just need to start a conversation.
First, prompt your child to reflect on the question. You could ask: โWhat do you think?โ
This allows your child to explore their own experiences. They might say, โI live for football and Bluey!โ
Second, move to generalisation. You can ask, โDo you think thatโs the meaning of life for everyone?โ This opens up a philosophical discussion beyond the self. Your child might say, โWell, Stella lives for gymnastics and cheese.โ
Finally, prompt towards abstraction, by asking โWhat makes life meaningful for all people?โ
Football, Bluey and handstands wonโt appeal to everyone, but something else might. Now weโre looking for examples (or counter-examples) as a method of inquiry.
This prompts your child to look for what is common to all people in living a meaningful life. They may respond with something like:
A lot of people love chocolate but not Aunty Grace. Most people love dogs but maybe not people who really love cats. Everyone loves time with their friends and family.
Suddenly, youโre having a rich philosophical dialogue. You can continue further inquiry into what really is love, or what makes certain relationships more important than others.
What weโre doing here is having a dialogue through concepts, academically known as conceptual analysis.
RDNE Stock Project/ Pexels, CC BY
Why should you do this?
Educational research has found philosophical dialogue improves childrenโs logical reasoning, reading and maths comprehension, self-esteem and turn-taking.
Studies have found it benefits childrenโs academic and social development in early childhood, primary school and high school.
But beyond these skills, philosophy empowers children to engage meaningfully with the world around them.
Happiness, identity, fairness, death, reality, time, nature, good, knowledge and purpose are all things children encounter every day. Philosophy with your child can simply be the exploration of what these concepts mean and how they impact our lives.
Understanding concepts and being able to apply that understanding to life is the foundation of philosophy.
Kampus Productions/ Pexels, CC BY
Questions to ask your child
To engage your child in philosophy, start a conversation with them about the concepts theyโre encountering.
If theyโre drawing, you could ask what is art? What is imagination?.
If they donโt want to share their favourite toy: what is fairness? What is kindness?
If theyโre talking to the dog: what is language? What is understanding?
If theyโre emotional: what is happiness? What is sadness?
If they want to know why they should go to school: what is knowledge?
If theyโre telling you about their dream: what is real?
Next time your child asks a big question, embrace the moment. By exploring concepts like fairness, love and happiness, youโre helping them interpret the world and become more thoughtful people.
By asking them to reflect, explore different perspectives and consider the bigger picture, youโll embark on a philosophical journey that can grow into something meaningful for you both.
Ben Kilby, PhD candidate in Education, Monash University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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