Author: Alex Masangu
St. Augustine University of Tanzania,
P.O. Box 307, Mwanza, Tanzania
Email: masanguag@hotmail.com
Abstract
The striving for philosophical education is among the necessary conditions for effective advocacy of philosophy. In the year 2007, through the book titled Philosophy, a school of freedom: Teaching philosophy and learning to philosophize: Status and prospects, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) disclosed the results of its study on the global situation of teaching and learning of philosophy in the academia and outside the academia. Regarding philosophy at academia, UNESCO uncovers, amongst others, the global reality of philosophy for children (P4C), namely, teaching and learning of philosophy at the pre-school and primary school levels. But are children capable of philosophical thinking? That is among many questions which express doubt about children’s aptitude for philosophical thinking. Therefore, with particular attention to Tanzanian educational context, this article attempts to show how the root (Lipman’s) advocacy embodies strong theoretical reasons and plausible, practical orientation towards P4C. Four sections constitute the article’s exposition. Introduction raises the subject of the discussion: the controversy over P4C. Lipman’s rational defence of P4C forms the second section. The enquiry into P4C’s relevance to Tanzania’s educational context provides the third section. An envisaging of an advocacy’s status of P4C in Tanzania creates the fourth section.
Keywords: Introduction to philosophy, philosophy for children, philosophy with children, philosophy education, philosophical enquiry, philosophising
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Suggested Citation
Masangu, A. (2020). Matthew Lipman on philosophy for children: a look at the root advocacy. African Research Journal of Education and Social Sciences, 7(2), 222-236. Available online at http://arjess.org/social-sciences-research/matthew-lipman-on-philosophy-for-children-a-look-at-the-root-advocacy.pdf
