Why Teach Philosophy in Schools?: The Case for Philosophy on the Curriculum (Bloomsbury Philosophy of Education)

This book presents a case for teaching philosophy in schools. It develops two original arguments for teaching philosophy to all students at some point over the course of their education. Gatley argues that teaching philosophy is the best way to help students to think clearly using ordinary, or non-specialist concepts such as 'good', 'truth', or 'happiness'. She goes on to argue that teaching philosophy is the best way to help students to make sense of the different conceptual schemes used by different school subjects. Combining these two arguments, Gatley suggests that these two roles for philosophy are central to the task of educating people, and so philosophy ought to be included on school curricula. Building on the work of philosophers of education including Richard Stanley Peters, Harry Brighouse, Matthew Lipman, Mary Midgley and Martha Nussbaum, the book covers a range of topics including Philosophy for Children (P4C), the aims education, religious education, curriculum design and education policy. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series 3 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Series Editor’s Foreword 7 Acknowledgements 9 Introduction 10 Part 1 Philosophy in Schools 14 1 A History of Philosophy in Schools 16 2 Existing Arguments for Teaching Philosophy in Schools 34 Part 2 The Aims of Education 62 3 The Aims of Education 64 4 A Utility Account of Education 100 Part 3 Two Arguments for Teaching Philosophy 134 5 Teaching Philosophy to Clarify Ordinary Concepts 136 6 Teaching Philosophy to Make Sense of the Curriculum 158 Conclusion 192 References 198 Index 208