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ISBN
0-916834-034
Target Grades
Middle School
Publication Date
1976
Publisher
Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children
Number of Pages
158
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Summary
LISA is the story of a school year in the life of an adolescent girl and her classmates, a year studded with physical, aesthetic and ethical awakenings. Various events in these young people's lives prompt them to puzzle over such issues as animal rights, sexism, racism, justice, divorce and death. All of them struggle with issues of identity and thinking for oneself - philosophical issues of perennial concern to adolescents. As they begin to recognize the ethical dimensions of their experience, Lisa and her friends puzzle over such philosophical concepts as the right, the fair, the good, perfection, and naturalism. In so doing, they become aware of their interdependence with one another and with nature, and begin to appreciate the complexity of ethical concerns and the multiple capacities involved in making sound ethical judgments.
Excerpt
After dinner, Lisa went outside. She had hardly reached the sidewalk when Mr. Johnson came along with his dog on a leash. Mr. Johnson was new to the neighborhood; Lisa really didn't know him ai all. When he and the dog got in front of Lisa's house, the dog spotted a squirrel by a tree and started after it. Mr.Johnson pulled up on the leash and the dog went sprawling. Then it was up again, growling and straining after the squirrel which had disappeared behind the tree. Mr. Johnson started to walk on, but the dog stayed put. The more the leash was pulled and yanked, the more the dog resisted. Mr. Johnson called to his dog, he shouted at it, but the dog did not move. Finally he picked up a small switch from a nearby bush and began to hit the dog which crouched, motionless, absorbing the blows. Lisa stared at the two of them in horror. She couldn't even cry out. Suddenly she sprang forward and tried to grab the switch. "You stop doing that!" she commanded furiously. Surprised, Mr. Johnson snatched the switch clear and turned, saying: "What's it to you?" Beside herself with rage, she blurted out, "I'm a dog too!"
Editions
- Lipman, Matthew (1983) Lisa. Montclair, NJ: Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children.
- Lipman, Matthew (1976) Lisa. Montclair, NJ: Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children.
Translations
- Catalan translation (Spain) Lipman, Matthew (2017) Elisa. Translated by Josep-Maria Terricabras and revised, updated and abbreviated by Manuela Gómez and Irene de Puig, with literary adaptation by Rodolfo del Hoyo. Girona, Spain: Eumo Editorial, Universitat de Girona. [Donated to Sprague]
- Catalan translation (Spain) Lipman, Matthew (2004) Elisa. Translated by Josep-Maria Terricabras and revised, updated and abbreviated by Manuela Gómez and Irene de Puig, with literary adaptation by Rodolfo del Hoyo. Girona, Spain: Eumo Editorial, Universitat de Girona. [Donated to Sprague]
- Catalan translation (Spain) Lipman, Matthew (1991) Lisa. Translated by Josep-Maria Terricabras Girona, Spain: Eumo Editorial, Universitat de Girona. [Donated to Sprague]
- Catalan translation (Spain): Lipman, Matthew (2015) Elisa. [Need translator.] Granada, Spain: Librería Coral. ISBN 9788497665445. Available for purchase here.
- English revised edition (USA): Lipman, Matthew (1998) Lisa. Revised by students and teachers of Nitschmann Middle School, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Area School. (Publisher not indicated).
- Finnish translation (Finland): Lipman, Matthew (1994) Liisa: eettisiä kysymyksiä [Lisa: ethical issues]. Translated and edited by Pekka Elo and Rainer Korhonen. Helsinki, Finland: Painatuskeskus. ISBN 9789513712983.
- French translation (Quebec, Canada): Lipman, Matthew (1993) Lisa. Translated by Marcel Savard. Québec City, Québec, Canada: Faculté de philosophie, Université Laval. ISBN 978344410. Available for purchase here.
- French translation (Belgium): Lipman, Matthew and Ann Margaret Sharp (2011) Lisa: Recherche éthique. Translated by Nicole Decostre, preface by Marcel Voisin. Brussels, Belgium: Peter Lang. ISBN: 9789052017587. Available for purchase here.
- German translation (Austria): Lipman, Matthew (2022) Lisa: Eine philosophische Geschichte [Lisa: A Philosophical Story]. Translated by Daniela G. Camhy. [Place of publication unknown]: Academia. doi.org/10.5771/9783896659873
- German translation (country?) by John Alexander [Need title & publication information.]
- Icelandic translation (Iceland): Lipman, Matthew (1993) Lísa. Translated by Hreinn Pálsson and Arna A Antonsdóttir. Reykjavík: Heimspekiskólinn.
- Italian translation (Italy): Lipman, Matthew (2015) Lisa. Translated and adapted by Alessandro Volpone. Naples, Italy: Liguori Editore. ISBN 9788820766092. Available for purchase here.
- Korean translation (ROK) by Chosik Lee and Jinwhan Park. [Unpublished.]
- Lithuanian translation (Lithuania): Lipman, Matthew (1999) Liza. Pilietinės visuomenės pagrindai. Vadovėlis-romanas. [Lisa. Basics of civil society. Textbook-novel.] Translated by Leonarda Jekentaitė. Vilnius: Kronta, 96 pp.
- Persian translation (Iran): Lipman, Matthew (2010/1389) Lisa. Translated by بحرینی حمیده(Hamideh Bahraini). Tehran, Iran: The Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies. (پژوهشگاه علوم انسانی و مطالعات فرهنگی).
- Persian adaptation (Iran): سعید ناجی (Naji, Saeed) (2010/1389) Leila, the philosopher child (an adaptation of Matthew Lipman's Lisa). Tehran, Iran: The Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies (پژوهشگاه علوم انسانی و مطالعات فرهنگی).
- Polish translation (Poland): Lipman, Matthew (1999) Iza. Translated by Dorota Szmajda. Warsaw, Poland: Fundacja Edukacja dla Demokracji [Education for Democracy Foundation]. ISBN 8386304812.
- Portuguese translation (Brazil): Lipman, Matthew (1995) Luísa. Translated by Ana Luiza Falcone. São Paulo, Brasil : Centro Brasileiro de Filosofia para Crianças.
- Spanish translation (Argentina): Lipman, Matthew (1999) Lisa. Translated by Horacio Pons; revised by Gloria Arbonés and Stella Accorinti. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Ediciones Manantial. ISBN 9789875000261. Available for purchase here
- Spanish translation (Colombia): Lipman, Matthew (2003) Elisa: novela de ética [Lisa: a novel of ethics]. Translated by Diego Antonio Pineda R. Bogotá, D.C., Colombia : Editora Beta.
- Spanish translation (Mexico): Lipman, Matthew (2009; 2012) Lisa. Translated and adapted by Claudia Hernández de Ponce de León and Eugenio Echeverría. San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico: Centro Latinoamericano de Filosofía para Niños. Available for purchase here.
- Spanish translation (Mexico) by Midwest Publications, 1977 (1st ed.) [Need title & publication information.]
- Spanish translation (Peru) Francisco Rubinos. 1st ed. [Need title & publication information.]
- Spanish translation (Spain): Lipman, Matthew (1988) Lisa. Translated by María Eugenia Láynez Cerdeña. Madrid: Ediciones de la Torre. Available for purchase here.
Keywords
education, ethics, ethical inquiry, middle school curriculum, moral education, philosophy, philosophy for children
Disciplines
Applied Ethics | Education | Philosophy
Published Reviews and Research
- Hanna, Patricia (1982) Review of Lisa by Matthew Lipman and Ethical Inquiry: Instructional Manual to Accompany Lisa by Matthew Lipman, Ann Margaret Sharp, and Frederick S. Oscanyan. Teaching Philosophy 5(3): 234-236.
- Reed, T.M. (1980) Review of Lisa by Matthew Lipman. Journal of Moral Education 10(1): 70-71.
- Martin, Michael (1977) Review of Lisa by Matthew Lipman. Teaching Philosophy 2(2): 205-210.
Recommended Citation
Lipman, Matthew (1976) Lisa. Montclair, NJ: Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children.