Philosophy As a Way of Discussing Animal Ethics with Children
A Movement
There is an educational movement called Philosophy for Children (P4C) which was started in 1972 when a professor named Matthew Lipman wrote a series of philosophical novels for children with accompanying resources to encourage philosophical thinking. P4C is now practiced in more than 30 countries around the world (Drabble, 2013). Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development asserts that children under the age of eleven are not capable of meta-thinking (thinking about their own thinking) which is the type of thinking that characterizes philosophical thinking. However, recent research has challenged this Piaget’s theory, arguing that he underestimated children’s cognitive abilities (“Philosophy for Children”).
When stories are presented that involve people their own age and situations that are relevant to them, children have the opportunity to talk about ideas that are important to them. Story books and novels are a common way to promote discussion. For example, the book Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson can be used to talk about: what is bravery? is it always good to be brave? what makes someone believable? can we ever be sure that there’s no such thing as a Gruffalo (I’ve never seen an armadillo but does that mean they’re not real?) (“Gruffalo”)? Mo Willem’s Knuffle Bunny can be used to talk about: can behaviour ever be as specific as words? Is language just as dependent on behaviour as it is on words? can thoughts exist without a language (“Knuffle Bunny”).? There are many more questions for each book, and there are many more books- these are just a couple of examples. There are also series of books created specifically for philosophical discussion. I suspect that once a teacher becomes comfortable using story books for philosophy, he will be able to provoke philosophical discussion with almost any book.
With a curriculum that is already packed and where teachers are pressured to present concrete evidence of student learning, it can be difficult to imagine adding in philosophy. This would be another subject to try and fit in, and one that teachers may not feel confident about teaching. However, by bringing philosophy into schools children are invited to reflect on their educational experience and consider the relationships between different areas of study, which can bring meaningfulness to their educational experience as a whole, as well as promote critical thinking which is needed across subject areas (“Philosophy for Children”).
Philosophical discussions encourage children to think for themselves, as well as think with others. Philosophical discussions promote understanding that there are other ways of being, thinking, and living in the world other than what children have been exposed to through their family and social circles (Ackerman, 2015). In addition philosophy cultivates children’s ability to reason, form sound arguments, and think critically.
Philosophy as a Way for Children to Think About Animal Ethics
Ethics, also referred to as moral philosophy, addresses what is morally right or wrong, good or bad (“Ethics”, 2015). Claudia Mills, author of Ethics and Children’s Literature states:
Ethical questions should concern what is fundamentally good in life, what rules should govern our choices and actions, and what kinds of people we should be. The realm of the ethical also encompasses politically charged questions of how we should live together and structure human society: What is just? What is fair? (Mills, 2014, p.1)
Ethical discussions open the door for children to look at common, everyday practices and question why those practices take place, and if there is more that needs to be considered when it comes to those practices. For instance, seeing gerbils at a pet store, seeing anthropomorphized animals on cereal boxes, eating meat, going to the zoo, etc, are fairly familiar events to most children. When we focus on these events and ask questions about them, children are given the opportunity to look beyond the surface of these experiences and to examine what these practices say about our conduct as humans. By introducing children to concepts like fairness, justice, reciprocity, intrinsic and instrumental value, rights, moral duties, (and of course asking questions about the basis of these concepts) the framework is developed for children to look at these everyday experiences through a different lens and begin asking questions like “Is that okay?” “Is that just?” “Is the $5 sign on the gerbil cage a true indication of how much they are worth?”
Reading stories along with reference books about animals, and sharing about personal experiences with animals can provoke discussions about the lives of nonhumans and what are relationship with them is like. The superiority of humans is assumed (thanks to Descartes, Aristotle, and other influential philosophers) but through discussion children can begin to question if it really is the case that humans are more important than animals. Questions such as: What makes someone important? What makes someone unimportant? Who decides who is important and unimportant? can be asked. Since it is assumed that humans are moral agents, capable of making moral choices, unlike animals, we can begin questioning if we have any responsibilities towards animals, and how we should treat those who are vulnerable.
I acknowledge that these are huge topics and difficult concepts that even adults struggle with. I am not trying to propose that a teacher just throws out all these questions at once. I suggest starting with stories and asking questions that build towards concepts like fairness and justice. Teaching philosophy to children certainly does not happen in one conversation. Rather, it happens over many conversations.
Notes
Ackerman, N. (2015 Mar 12). ‘Teach philosophy in primary schools,’ says academic.The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/primaryeducation/11466547/Teach-philosophy-in-primary-schools-says-academic.html
Drabble, E. (2013 July 29). How to teach...philosophy. The Guardian. http://www.theguardian.com/education/teacher-blog/2013/jul/29/philosophy-teaching-resources-schools
Ethics. (Mar 4, 2015). In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/194023/ethics
Knuffle Bunny. (June 2010). In Teaching Children Philosophy. Retrieved from http://www.teachingchildrenphilosophy.org/wiki/Knuffle_Bunny
Mills, C. (2014). Ethics and children’s literature. Burlington: Ashgate.
Philosophy for Children. (May 2, 2002) In Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/children/
The Gruffalo. (n.d.). In The P4C Co-operative. Retrieved from http://p4c.com/articles/gruffalo
There is an educational movement called Philosophy for Children (P4C) which was started in 1972 when a professor named Matthew Lipman wrote a series of philosophical novels for children with accompanying resources to encourage philosophical thinking. P4C is now practiced in more than 30 countries around the world (Drabble, 2013). Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development asserts that children under the age of eleven are not capable of meta-thinking (thinking about their own thinking) which is the type of thinking that characterizes philosophical thinking. However, recent research has challenged this Piaget’s theory, arguing that he underestimated children’s cognitive abilities (“Philosophy for Children”).
When stories are presented that involve people their own age and situations that are relevant to them, children have the opportunity to talk about ideas that are important to them. Story books and novels are a common way to promote discussion. For example, the book Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson can be used to talk about: what is bravery? is it always good to be brave? what makes someone believable? can we ever be sure that there’s no such thing as a Gruffalo (I’ve never seen an armadillo but does that mean they’re not real?) (“Gruffalo”)? Mo Willem’s Knuffle Bunny can be used to talk about: can behaviour ever be as specific as words? Is language just as dependent on behaviour as it is on words? can thoughts exist without a language (“Knuffle Bunny”).? There are many more questions for each book, and there are many more books- these are just a couple of examples. There are also series of books created specifically for philosophical discussion. I suspect that once a teacher becomes comfortable using story books for philosophy, he will be able to provoke philosophical discussion with almost any book.
With a curriculum that is already packed and where teachers are pressured to present concrete evidence of student learning, it can be difficult to imagine adding in philosophy. This would be another subject to try and fit in, and one that teachers may not feel confident about teaching. However, by bringing philosophy into schools children are invited to reflect on their educational experience and consider the relationships between different areas of study, which can bring meaningfulness to their educational experience as a whole, as well as promote critical thinking which is needed across subject areas (“Philosophy for Children”).
Philosophical discussions encourage children to think for themselves, as well as think with others. Philosophical discussions promote understanding that there are other ways of being, thinking, and living in the world other than what children have been exposed to through their family and social circles (Ackerman, 2015). In addition philosophy cultivates children’s ability to reason, form sound arguments, and think critically.
Philosophy as a Way for Children to Think About Animal Ethics
Ethics, also referred to as moral philosophy, addresses what is morally right or wrong, good or bad (“Ethics”, 2015). Claudia Mills, author of Ethics and Children’s Literature states:
Ethical questions should concern what is fundamentally good in life, what rules should govern our choices and actions, and what kinds of people we should be. The realm of the ethical also encompasses politically charged questions of how we should live together and structure human society: What is just? What is fair? (Mills, 2014, p.1)
Ethical discussions open the door for children to look at common, everyday practices and question why those practices take place, and if there is more that needs to be considered when it comes to those practices. For instance, seeing gerbils at a pet store, seeing anthropomorphized animals on cereal boxes, eating meat, going to the zoo, etc, are fairly familiar events to most children. When we focus on these events and ask questions about them, children are given the opportunity to look beyond the surface of these experiences and to examine what these practices say about our conduct as humans. By introducing children to concepts like fairness, justice, reciprocity, intrinsic and instrumental value, rights, moral duties, (and of course asking questions about the basis of these concepts) the framework is developed for children to look at these everyday experiences through a different lens and begin asking questions like “Is that okay?” “Is that just?” “Is the $5 sign on the gerbil cage a true indication of how much they are worth?”
Reading stories along with reference books about animals, and sharing about personal experiences with animals can provoke discussions about the lives of nonhumans and what are relationship with them is like. The superiority of humans is assumed (thanks to Descartes, Aristotle, and other influential philosophers) but through discussion children can begin to question if it really is the case that humans are more important than animals. Questions such as: What makes someone important? What makes someone unimportant? Who decides who is important and unimportant? can be asked. Since it is assumed that humans are moral agents, capable of making moral choices, unlike animals, we can begin questioning if we have any responsibilities towards animals, and how we should treat those who are vulnerable.
I acknowledge that these are huge topics and difficult concepts that even adults struggle with. I am not trying to propose that a teacher just throws out all these questions at once. I suggest starting with stories and asking questions that build towards concepts like fairness and justice. Teaching philosophy to children certainly does not happen in one conversation. Rather, it happens over many conversations.
Notes
Ackerman, N. (2015 Mar 12). ‘Teach philosophy in primary schools,’ says academic.The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/primaryeducation/11466547/Teach-philosophy-in-primary-schools-says-academic.html
Drabble, E. (2013 July 29). How to teach...philosophy. The Guardian. http://www.theguardian.com/education/teacher-blog/2013/jul/29/philosophy-teaching-resources-schools
Ethics. (Mar 4, 2015). In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/194023/ethics
Knuffle Bunny. (June 2010). In Teaching Children Philosophy. Retrieved from http://www.teachingchildrenphilosophy.org/wiki/Knuffle_Bunny
Mills, C. (2014). Ethics and children’s literature. Burlington: Ashgate.
Philosophy for Children. (May 2, 2002) In Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/children/
The Gruffalo. (n.d.). In The P4C Co-operative. Retrieved from http://p4c.com/articles/gruffalo