Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1989

Journal / Book Title

Analytic Teaching

Abstract

What philosophy for children promises to do, and that among children and adults (how, after all, can adults bring it about among children unless they have experienced it themselves?) is not only to reclaim philosophy, or to bring philosophy back to life (pun intended); not only to deliver it from the strangleholds of the various traditions, and from the violent, agonistic use to which it is put in so many departments. That, certainly, would be enough. But beyond that, it is to demonstrate the words of those prophets of dialogue of our century like Gadamer or Royce, who have understood that "truth cannot be won by one interpreter." As such, it delivers philosophy from the positivistic individualism of the propositional ideal--from the idea of philosophy as discrete collections of private, non-communal meanings, substantive "versions" of how things are, intuited and argued for by individuals against other individuals, one of whom will be right in the end. The operation of the community of inquiry redefines philosophy as an interactive, communal, emergent activity, or event-structure. This is of tremendous significance, especially if it is done in schools, and begins working its way into the American grain. It promises, not only profound curricular reform in schools, but a renaissance in American philosophy as well--a renaissance, not insignificantly, inspired by children.

Book Publisher

Viterbo University

Journal ISSN / Book ISBN

2374-8257

Published Citation

Kennedy, David (1989) Philosophy for Children and the Redefinition of Philosophy: Total Immersion at Mendham. Analytic Teaching 10(1): 15-21.

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