As an ancillary benefit, maybe kids would grow up with a bigger appreciation for math if they knew the significance it has in philosophy, which is itself the glue that binds all disciplines together.
Can't forget the sign hanging over the doorway to Plato's Academy: "Let no man ignorant of geometry enter here." Just a thought. On Mon, Jan 9, 2012 at 1:28 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > ** > Centroids* :* > Worthwhile study even if it might well have been more effective if another > approach had been taken. The effectiveness part concerns findings that > study of > philosophy --in some form-- enhances ( or stimulates ) various reasoning > and > social skills which have real world value. That is, kids turn out better > if they are > introduced to philosophy during public school years. > > However, what is the best way to do this ? The article suggests a highly > targeted > approach, concentrating on citizenship and its meaning. But as an > alternative > how about a biographical approach ? > > What turned me on the philosophy was reading Will Durant's book, *The > Story of Philosophy*, > at about age 18. From then on the whole world of ideas became > inspirational. The book is > divided into chapters that discuss the biographies of famous philosophers > and the role of ideas > in their lives at various times in history. > > Among the philosophers presented are* :* Plato, Aristotle, Spinoza, > Descartes, Voltaire, Kant, > Hegel,Nietzsche, Benedetto Croce, Bertrand Russell, William James, and > John Dewey. > There also is a book of similar scope to recommend, which I wish I had > read much earlier than > some time in my 50s, Robert Heilbronner's *The Worldly Philosophers*, > This is about philosopher-economists, namely* :* Adam Smith, Malthus, > the Utopian Socialists, Karl Marx, Thorstein Veblen > John Maynard Keynes, and Joseph Schumpeter, among others. > > Obviously, to the extent that inculcating values of citizenship is a good > idea --which can hardly > be argued with-- we might add other thinkers to the list. Ben Franklin, > Thomas Jefferson, > Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison would each qualify as a philosopher, > and so would > John Stuart Mill. You might even include Mark Twain under the heading > "philosophy of humor" > or "philosophy of character." But there are others, for various reasons, > including Hypatia, > the Hellenistic woman philosopher, Lao Tzu, Omar Khayyam ( the poet as > philosopher ), > Thomas Aquinas ( no set of philosophers would be compete without him ), > the Nyaya > philosophers of classical-era India, and so forth. Camus ( philosopher as > novelist ) , > HL Mencken ( philosopher as journalist ), and Heisenberg ( scientist as > philosopher ) > are other suggestions. > > Read about these great people and what happens ? You'd need to have a > dead brain > not to be inspired. Through the lives of these outstanding thinkers the > relevance of > philosophy becomes evident and has meaning. You can see how ideas > influenced > people's lives. You can see the relevance of ideas to people's lives and > understand > why ideas can move mountains. Find a philosopher to be your guiding star > and > take things from there. > > Billy > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > *Physorg* > School pupils learn about practical philosophyJanuary 5, > 2012<http://www.physorg.com/archive/05-01-2012/> > > *Children could learn valuable lessons in responsible citizenship, such > as making moral judgements and informed choices, through taking part in > philosophical dialogue, according to researchers at the University of > Strathclyde.* > > A study of more than 130 primary and secondary > pupils<http://www.physorg.com/tags/pupils/>found that taking part in > practical philosophy sessions improved the > children's listening skills<http://www.physorg.com/tags/listening+skills/>, > gave them greater respect for other people, encouraged them to consider > other perspectives and ideas they may not otherwise have thought about and > helped them analyse problems so that they are thought through before making > decisions. > > The sessions, following an approach known as Community of Philosophical > Inquiry (CoPI), involved pupils being given a > stimulus<http://www.physorg.com/tags/stimulus/>such as a picture, a piece of > writing or a piece > of music <http://www.physorg.com/tags/piece+of+music/> and being asked to > come up with questions prompted by it. A question was chosen and a > structured dialogue followed, facilitated by a teacher trained in CoPI. > > Dr Claire Cassidy, a Lecturer in Education at Strathclyde, led the > research. She said: "Doing practical philosophy in this way provides > children with tools to enable them to participate as active citizens. > > "Teachers in Scotland are being encouraged, through Curriculum for > Excellence, to foster responsible citizenship in pupils, although > discussions are continuing on what citizenship actually means. We wanted to > assess how effective the Community of Philosophical Inquiry approach can be > in supporting children towards achieving the aims of the curriculum. While > doing philosophy doesn't necessarily guarantee citizenship, it goes some > way towards providing the necessary tools that a citizen requires. > > "When pupils taking part in the study were asked what they thought > citizenship <http://www.physorg.com/tags/citizenship/> meant, they > emphasised that it related to representing the views of others, being > environmentally aware, being law-abiding and sitting on committees, as well > as having good manners and being respectful to others and their views. > > "They found they were able to debate and discuss reasoned argument without > conflict and often continued their discussions after their sessions had > finished. They felt CoPI got them thinking deeply- as one pupil put it, > thinking like they had never thought before." > > The study involved more than 130 primary and secondary pupils around > Scotland being presented with a series of scenarios in which people faced > moral choices, including what to do with money they have found and choosing > which charity to give funds they have raised. > > They were asked what course of action the people might take, what they > would have done themselves and their reasons for their decisions. > > After taking part in a series of CoPI sessions over eight to 10 weeks, the > pupils were presented with similar scenarios. Their answers this time > tended to be considerably more detailed and offered far more justification > for their responses. > > -- > 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 > -- 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
