Letters Teach philosophy in our schools
_guardian.co.uk_ (http://www.guardian.co.uk/) , Tuesday 13 September 2011 15.59 EDT We share the view that introducing _philosophy_ (http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/philosophy) lessons in the classroom from a very early age would have immense benefits in terms of boosting British schoolchildren's reasoning and conceptual skills, better equipping them for the complexities of life in the 21st century, where ubiquitous technology and rapid social change are the order of the day. There is a growing body of evidence that philosophy can be of huge importance in opening up young minds. Reasoning skills and habits improve learning in other subjects on the curriculum and do not require purchasing expensive equipment and classroom resources. The long-term imperative must be to recruit more specialist philosophy teachers and to increase the number of philosophy graduates. However, in the short to medium term we also call for the introduction of a new specialist teacher training diploma in philosophy. It is our opinion that this will make sure children from all backgrounds get the advantages philosophy at a young age can bring in terms of intellectual and social development. Angie Hobbs Senior fellow in the public understanding of philosophy, University of Warwick Ariane Sherine Comedy writer and journalist Susan Greenfield Scientist, writer, broadcaster Bettany Hughes Historian, broadcaster Diana Janney Philosopher, author Dr Anthony Seldon Political historian and educationalist, master, Wellington College Dr Catherine C McCall Philosopher and originator of 'Socrates for 6-year-olds' Dr Julian Baggini Philosopher, broadcaster Dr Miranda Fricker Senior lecturer in philosophy, Birkbeck, University of London Dr Rosanna Keefe University of Sheffield Dr Scott Sturgeon University of Oxford Dr Simon Glendinning Philosopher, LSE Mark Vernon Philosopher, journalist Michael Hand Institute of Education, editor of Philosophy in _Schools_ (http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/schools) Peter Cave Author, lecturer, chair, Humanist Philosophers Peter Worley Co-founder of The Philosophy Shop Professor AC Grayling Professor Adrian Moore University of Oxford Professor Alison Gopnik Psychologist, UC Berkeley; author, The Philosophical Baby Professor Barry C Smith Director, Institute of Philosophy Professor Bill Brewer University of Warwick Professor Bob Brecher University of Brighton Professor Bob Hale University of Sheffield Professor Christopher Norris School of English communication and philosophy, Cardiff University Professor Daniel Douglas Hutto Professor of philosophical psychology, University of Hertfordshire Professor Duncan Pritchard University of Edinburgh Professor Emma Borg Professor of philosophy, University of Reading Professor Eric Matthews Emeritus professor of philosophy, University of Aberdeen Professor Helen Beebee School of philosophy, theology and religion, University of Birmingham Professor James Ladyman University of Bristol Professor Jennifer Saul University of Sheffield Professor John Dupre Director of Egenis, University of Exeter Professor John Skorupski Professor of moral philosophy, University of St Andrews Professor Jonathan Glover Professor of ethics, King's College, London, director of the Centre for Medical Law and Ethics Professor Julian Savulescu Uehiro chair in practical ethics, University of Oxford Professor Laurie Taylor Sociologist, broadcaster Professor Naomi Eilan University of Warwick Professor Nicholas Davey University of Dundee Professor Paul Noordhof University of York Professor Peter Hallward Professor of modern European philosophy, Kingston University Professor Peter Simons Chair of moral philosophy, Trinity College Dublin Professor Raymond Tallis Philosopher, poet, novelist and cultural critic Professor Robert Eaglestone Professor of contemporary literature and thought, Royal Holloway, University of London Professor Robert Hopkins University of Sheffield Professor Robin Attfield School of English communication and philosophy, Cardiff University Roger Sutcliffe Co-founder of SAPERE Professor Simon Blackburn Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge Professor Stephen Read Department of logic and metaphysics, University of St Andrews Rick Lewis Editor, Philosophy Now Robert Rowland Smith Writer on philosophy, psychoanalysis and literature Robin Ince Comedian, humanist Terry Jones Comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian Tom Rosenthal Actor, comedian -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
