Files
Download Full Text (19.6 MB)
ISBN
0-916834-3 lX
Target Grades
Elementary School
Publication Date
1996
Publisher
Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children
Number of Pages
182
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Summary
Deciding What to Do consists of a variety of exercises and discussion plans with which teachers can initiate or flesh out classroom discussion of concepts in the Nous program. The program concentrates on some of the ethical considerations children should take into account deciding what to do when faced with a moral problem.
Excerpt
When you answer these questions, try to give examples as well as reasons.
- Is it possible that some people do things which they call "right," and yet those things they do are really very harmful to other people?
- Is it possible that some people do things which almost no one thinks are right, and yet which are really very helpful to everyone?
- Is it possible that some things are wrong to do, even if doing them doesn't hurt anyone?
- Is it possible that some things are right to do, even though some people get hurt as a result?
- Is it possible that some things are neither right nor wrong to do?
- Is it possible that some things are always right, and other things are always wrong?
- Is it possible that, if it's wrong for everyone else to do certain things, it's also wrong for you?
- Is it possible that certain things may be wrong for another person to do, but right for you?
- Is it possible that sometimes, other people know what you should do better than you know it?
- Is it possible that sometimes you know what you should do better than anyone else?
Translations
- Dutch translation (Belgium): Lipman, Matthew (1999) Nous: verhaal en handleiding, materiaal om te filosoferen met kinderen [Nous: Story and Manual, Material for Philosophizing with Children]. Translated by Peter Algoet, Richard Anthone, and Freddy Mortier. Leuven, Belgium: Acco.
- French translation (Belgium): Lipman, Matthew and Ann Margaret Sharp (2021) Noûs: Prendre une décision [Nous: Making a Decision]. Translated by Nicole Decostre; preface by Marcel Voisin. Brussels, Belgium: Peter Lang. ISBN:978-2-8076-1611-0. Available for purchase here.
- Korean translation (ROK): Lipman, Matthew (1999) '나의 친구 보임이' 교사용 지도서 도덕적 판단 [My Friend Boimi and Teacher's Guide: Moral Judgment]. Translated by 몽클레어 주립대학. 서울시: 한국철학교육 아카데미 출판부 [Seoul, Republic of Korea: Hankook Ch'ŭlh'ak Kyoyuk Akademi Ch'ulp'anbu].
- Spanish translation (Spain): Lipman, Matthew (2004): Decidiendo qué hacemos. Manual del profesor para acompañar a Nous. Translated and adapted by Pilar Pedraza Moreno. Madrid, Spain: Ediciones de la Torre. ISBN 9788479603403. Available for purchase here.
Keywords
elementary education, Matthew Lipman, philosophy for children, moral education, ethics, personhood
Disciplines
Education | Ethics and Political Philosophy | Philosophy
Recommended Citation
Lipman, Matthew (1996) Deciding What to Do: Instructional Manual to Accompany "Nous". Montclair, NJ: Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children.
