Philosophy

In the Lighthouse, the children have been incorporating drama to express their philosophical thinking. They explored the mind-body relationship to determine experiences where the mind (or brain) controls the body or when the body controls the mind. We have been acting out scenarios to represent both experiences.

The Loftroom has dived head first into a deep exploration of reality and dreams in conjunction with their Unit of Inquiry. Each lesson focused on identifying the features of a scenario  that contrasts with what could only occur in reality. The children have been telling ‘dreams’ to their friends and contorting reality to develop a conversation around what could qualify as a feature of dream, or what could qualify as a feature of reality.

The Sunroom has continued hearing the tales of the philosophical escapades between Simone Weil and Friedrich Nietzsche. Each week these characters find themselves in a philosophical bind which the children must help solve. From one week the children would identify the defining value of art, whilst the next they determined if identities would transfer if the characters swapped brains. 

The Peppercorns have entered into ‘Plato’s Republic’. Each child created a profile for a hypothetical character from ancient Greece and has created deductive arguments for their character, justifying a desire that their character may have. The children are consequently building reasoning skills to justify any argument they themselves may formulate in the future: a cornerstone skill of philosophy that Plato would have engaged in himself! 

Oliver Breedon

Teacher of Philosophy

oliver.breedon@preshil.vic.edu.au