“Maybe we’re all in a dream and when someone wakes up we will disappear,”
muses Louis, aged 4½, pursuing a surreal line of philosophical inquiry while
pushing the last dregs of Coco Pops around his bowl.
We have reached this abstract state of affairs by looking at some pictures of
Superman in his favourite comic book and discussing the nature of reality.
Normally, reading Superman would provoke nothing more in-depth than a
discussion about who could destroy whom the quickest. But this morning is
different. Intrigued by new research which indicates that even young
children can benefit from philosophical thinking, I’m interested to see how
my young son fares as a diminutive Descartes-in-the-making.
I start by asking if he thinks Superman is real or not, which leads
surprisingly quickly to trickier questions touching on definitions of
fiction and reality. “Well, Batman is fiction; it’s what’s in people’s heads
and reality is another word for real.” “And what do you think we mean by
‘real’? “What happens every day?” So far, so logical. I wonder if we’re
ready for a bit of Cartesian duality. “So, Louis, where is your heart?”
Points to chest. “And your brain?” Points to head. So where do you think
your thoughts come from? Heart or brain?” Looks blank. “Sometimes I feel
things in my tummy,” he says. OK, where do you think God lives? Long pause.
“Maybe a bit of God is in everyone. Maybe he’s in everything, even the
trees.”
Gosh. A pantheist, barely out of Pampers. Whereas adults would be more
self-conscious and considered in their replies, children will answer almost
anything you put to them, regardless of its complexity, in a much more
self-assured, instinctive — and enthusiastic — way. Possibly one of the
reasons is because the issues they really care about are so central to
philosophical inquiry. Death, for instance, is very much part of a
four-year-old’s world. “Where will you go when you die, Mummy?” or “Will you
die before me?” are questions parents have to confront.
Now, it seems, it’s something we should be encouraging. After tracking a
secondary school in Clackmannanshire, researchers from Dundee University
discovered that learning philosophy can improve children’s levels of
emotional intelligence significantly and even raise their IQ scores by 6½
points. There is also evidence that exploring philosophical concepts can
have a long-term impact on their relationship skills, making youngsters more
aware of their own feelings and the feelings of others, while modifying
their classroom behaviour.
Clackmannanshire Council is so impressed by the results that it is also
funding philosophy teaching in primary schools for children as young as 4.
Similar projects are being launched in primary schools nationwide. “It’s
definitely increasing and we’re struggling to meet demand,” says Lizzy
Lewis, the developmental manager for Sapere, the Society for Advancing
Philosophical Enquiry and Reflection in Education, based at Oxford Brookes
University.
Sapere’s approach emphasises “community of inquiry” in which children are
encouraged to choose a question, prompted by a book or picture, and then to
reflect on certain issues with fellow classmates. “We get children to really
engage with each other,” says Lewis, who is also a philosophy infant
teacher. “So, for instance, one child will say, ‘It’s never right to tell a
lie’. And another will say ‘I don’t quite understand what you mean’. You
don’t get younger children tackling the finer points of existentialism, but
you do get a focus on critical thinking, the logical process by which we
test our thoughts and ideas.”
Lewis believes that such an approach is key to building self-confidence.
“Being listened to by your peers is hugely powerful. It’s not quite the same
as group therapy but there are similarities.” She isn’t alone in linking
these approaches to mental wellbeing. “The bottom line is that such teaching
may provide a foundation for a happier, psychologically healthier adult
life,” says Elizabeth Doherr, a psychologist who has researched the
cognitive benefits of learning philosophy. She believes these skills can
help children to think more flexibly about life’s challenges, which could
have a “fundamental effect on an individual’s vulnerability to depression”.
It seems rather ironic that philosophy, of all subjects, might actually
improve our children’s levels of optimism and happiness. Who’d have thought
that endlessly reflecting on the nature of death, futility and
meaninglessness — well, that’s if you read Sartre — could have a therapeutic
benefit? Tim LeBon, a philosophical therapist and author of Wise Therapy(Sage,
£18.99), isn’t surprised. “Of course, it can improve our children’s
psychological wellbeing. Through philosophy we can make the thoughts behind
our negative emotions less hidden.”
LeBon has already started working on emotional intelligence with his son Mike,
7, suggesting ways that he can manage his negative emotions, and dipping
into philosophical theory on the way. “I use the Socratic method, not so
much telling him what to do, but allowing him to discover it himself.” So
when Mike admitted that he was anxious about not doing well in his homework,
they explored the idea of considering the worst-case scenario and how bad
that would feel; not that bad, as it happened.
Critics may say that these sorts of exchanges, both in the classroom and at
home, are a rather diluted form of philosophy that could just as easily be
described as sympathetic and intelligent conversation between adults and
children. Julian Baggini, the editor of The Philosopher’s Magazine,
agrees. “It’s not philosophy as I would see it. I’m not sure that you can
even compare it to Socratic dialogue. Socrates ripped people’s ideas to
shreds in the marketplace. If you were to interrogate children like Socrates
did, the Child Protection Agency would accuse you of abuse. So it’s not
about listening to people in an open way.” Yet even Baggini admits that we
shouldn’t be too sceptical. “If you encourage children to think things
through constructively, it’s beneficial and, on average, it probably makes
you happier.”
Apart from the children, it’s also enjoyable for the parents to witness all
that fresh, original thinking. “It opens up such a different level of
conversation,” says Lewis. A bit like the one we had this morning, prompted
by my new DVD, Socrates for Six Year Olds. If anyone asked me how I
know that I exist at 10am, I’m not sure I’d know where to begin. Louis was a
much more willing student. “I know I exist because lots of people see me.
And if we didn’t, why would we have brains to think?” Cogito
ergo sum? Descartes couldn’t have put it better himself.
Getting started Philosophical questions for 5-7-year-olds
What is the difference between imagination and dreams?
Do we have to be sad sometimes to be happy?
Can you love someone and hate them at the same time?
Is it ever OK to tell a lie?
What is love?
Are friends more important than family?
When/at what age do we start to think?
What happens when we die?
Further reading
Teaching Children To Think, by Robert Fisher (Nelson Thornes)
Thinking Together: Philosophical Enquiry for the Classroom, by Philip
Cam (Hale & Iremonger)
Socrates for Six Year Olds, Sapere DVD collection, sapere.net; for more
info, jnpartnership.co.uk
