An International Conference Experience

The International Council for Philosophical Inquiry With Children (ICPIC) is composed of a group of philosophers and educators who have an interest in strengthening communication among those who are engaged in philosophical inquiry with children, in teacher education, and in research that involves encouraging children’s philosophical thinking. ICPIC members meet biannually for an international conference where new thoughts and practices in the field of Philosophy for Children (P4C) are exchanged. The last meeting took place at Gyeongsang National University in Jinju, South Korea, from July 18-20, 2011. The theme of the conference was “Moral, Multicultural, and Thinking Education.”  

My Paper

The paper I presented, “Teaching Metaphysical and Epistemological Problems of Perception to Grade School Children” is an attempt to answer questions such as whether children should be exposed to the metaphysical/epistemological problems of perception, and if so, when and why these problems should be taught to school children. I also discuss some of the benefits of exposing students, from a young age, to the problems of perception and what the school community (students, teachers, administrators, and parents) as well as society as a whole can gain from this type of teaching practice. In this sense, this paper engages in the discussions of the Philosophy of Education and P4C, but at the same time suggests something not yet proposed, which is the implementation of the teaching of the problems of perception, in a critical pedagogy mode of teaching, to young children in order to develop in them critical thinking skills.