This study aimed at providing the necessity, possibility, and grounds of philosophical education for children by proving the similarity between the contents and forms of debates of ancient philosophers and those of 5-year-old children in the philosoph...
This study aimed at providing the necessity, possibility, and grounds of philosophical education for children by proving the similarity between the contents and forms of debates of ancient philosophers and those of 5-year-old children in the philosophical community activity of inquiry.
In order to achieve this goal, we took an analysis of the discussion of 「Lysis」, 「Apology」, 「Symposium」, and 「Phaedo」in the Dialogues of Plato and the discussion of the philosophical community activity of inquiry taken place from August, 2010 to February, 2011 at A daycare center in Kangdong-gu. Then, we compared the process of the discussions. This study suggested three main subjects, and the results of the study are as follows.
First, we looked at the discussion process of the Dialogues of Plato. 「Lysis」ends in Aporia, arising as a result of equally plausible yet inconsistent premises although the nature of friendship was discussed. 「Apology」revealed the truth of life with Socrates’ own defense of himself at court, using ‘irony’ confessing ‘not knowing’ and a form of arguing. In addition,「Symposium」ends with the nature of love suggested by Diotima after men attending the symposium made their own speech about love, using ‘irony’ confessing ‘not knowing’ and a form of arguing. At last,「Phaedo」discusses death, souls, and immortality, using a form of arguing.
Second, we looked at the discussion process of the philosophical community activity of inquiry of 5-year-old children. In the discussion of ‘friendship’, they told in irony and aporia that similarity and difference are important in making friends. In the discussion about the ‘truth’, they discussed factual judgment, truth, and wisdom, and defined courage in irony and argument. In the discussion of ‘love’, they discussed the definition of love, eternity of love, and how to love forever in irony and argument. In the discussion of ‘death’, they told their own experience with death, and discussed rebirth and re-incarnation, and ended with an attitude of life in irony and argument.
Third, we looked at the relationship between the discussions of the ‘Dialogues of Plato’ and the philosophical community activity of inquiry of 5-year-old children. The contents of the two discussions were very similar. Both of them showed the attitudes of life like pursuing wisdom for communication, being free from life and death, seeking beauty, and pursuing happiness. Both of the discussions used irony, argumentation, and aporia.
This study was significant because the Dialogues of Plato was analyzed, and metaphysical subjects difficult to use in children education were discussed with children through the philosophical community activity of inquiry of 5-year-old children. In addition, this study was the first of comparing the discussion of the Dialogues of Plato and that of the philosophical community activity of inquiry of 5-year-old children, and we hoped that this would be a basis of possibility of philosophical education for children.