Doing without Socrates
The Socratic method, when used correctly, is an ingenious and dependable way of fostering collaborative dialogic argument in the classroom. Yet the Victorian Department of Education and Training (DET) presents […]
Tag Archives: critical thinking
Wake up!
Philosophy education and the climate crisis Like many in our community, I find myself moving between shock, anxiety, grief and frustration as news reports indicate that our planet is heating […]
Straighten up and fly right: Making dialogue work
Does dialogue work to harmonise conflicting views, or does it simply entrench differences? According to extensive research in the psychology of polarised opinion, the answer is discouraging: when people of […]
Beyond parallel play: Three keys to dialogic argument
In honour of World Philosophy Day, I’m capping off my series on relativism and evaluativism today. If you haven’t read my previous posts in the series – Epistemology Needs to […]
Friendly excursions into disequilibrium
I’ve been progressively building the argument that we educators need to help our students move beyond relativism, and towards an evaluativist level of understanding. But how can we achieve this? […]
What are we doing here?
(Or, how to be inimitable) We’re a motley crew, we Philosophy in Schools people. Our goals are so varied, it can be hard to say exactly what it is that […]
Tolerance gone rogue: More troubles with relativism
“I guess what makes something right is how I feel about it. But different people feel different ways, so I couldn’t speak on behalf of anyone else as to what’s […]
Dying goats and flying dogs: Troubles with relativism
Tweens and teens, however strong and resilient they may be as individuals, are collectively a vulnerable bunch. We hear a lot about how they’re susceptible to social exclusion, peer pressure, mental […]
Epistemology needs to matter: A call to arms
“At a time when political rhetoric is riven with irrationality, when knowledge is…seen…as an encumbrance that can be pushed aside if it stands in the way of wishful thinking, and […]
NAPLAN persuasive writing test subverts critical thinking
The capacity to persuade is a vital currency: it fosters active civic participation and affords access to power in a democracy. Developing persuasiveness therefore has an important place in education. […]
