Managing Philosophical Discussions

Abstract

Introduction:  Did we manage it that time?  Did that discussion really count as a philosophical one - a discussion which is cumulative, which binds, and in which definite progress is made?  These are questions I wrestle with regularly as I work with three classes of fifth and sixth graders at Edinburgh School in Montreal.  Some discussions are clearly better than others, but are they truly philosophical?  Are the children learning to see them as such?  Sometimes it can be hard to tell.