Doing Philosophical Psychology: Helping Adolescents Discover their Place in History

Abstract

Introduction: This paper explores one of the elements of doing philosophy with young people. As readers of this journal will know, people of all ages, including young children, can do philosophy as the work of Matthew Lipman demonstrated. Here I argue that there is something unique about the ways that some adolescents and young adults struggle with a set of philosophical issues. To explore philosophy with adolescents and young adults is to recognize and to build on some of the questions that are at the surface of, or latent within, their struggle as they enter adulthood. To do philosophy with emerging adults is to recognize and address these questions. One of the important questions is: "what does it mean to be an inheritor of a culture that one did not create?" This question and the closely related question, "what does it mean to be an adult?" has been explored for millennia, but is experienced uniquely for each individual. Many young people have little awareness that they are embarking on a potentially dangerous adventure during which they will come face-to-face with issues that will challenge who they are, as they address ways of engaging the culture. This encounter will nudge them to explore philosophical ideas, whether this exploration happens in formal environments such as classrooms, or informal settings like coffee houses and late-night "bull sessions" in dorm rooms, or other hangouts. This question is sometimes introduced as a lighthearted and even cynical question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" but often migrates into a more serious discussion with a focus on the "to be" part of the question. As the discussion deepens beyond the issues of employment or career, the importance of Being comes more into the foreground.