Dyskusja dialogiczna: filozofia dzieciństwa i filozofia dorosłych
Dialogical discussion: philosophy of childhood and philosophy of adults

Summary/Abstract: This article is devoted to the study of the educational approach based on Matthew Lipman’s Philosophy for Children. I examine its philosophical significance along with the concept of philosophy which underlies it and which is assumed in it. In addition, I describe the model of inquiry which has been developed using this approach, giving it the name of dialogical discussion. Referring to Gareth B. Matthews, I use the two meanings of the term “philosophy of childhood” – philosophical reflection on childhood and philosophy created in childhood – in order to analyze the relationship between the philosophy of childhood and the philosophy of adults. I defend the thesis that inquiry, in which children explore the questions and insights made by children, is the practice of philosophy, not proto-philosophy or philosophy’s childhood. The opposite view I describe as didactical-philosophical paternalism, and it is consistent with the main prejudice which has dominated reflections on childhood so far. I situate the role of the teacher within the perspective of the autonomy of the philosophy of childhood from the hitherto existing philosophical tradition, and also within the perspective of interactions between these two discourses. In the conclusion, I sketch out some possibilities for developing the discussed issues.

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