Looking for philosophy experts (page 2)

Narkissos

Lots of good ideas so far.

One problem as one comes to philosophy from religion is an unconscious and persistent (the more unconscious, the more persistent) tendency to ask religious questions and expect religious answers from philosophy.

Revelation and tradition per se have no authority in the realm of philosophy; they are not banned from it either, only they will be questioned and will have to argue their point on the marketplace like everybody else. The keyword being dialogue -- which includes a measure of agôn, "struggle," like in discussion or debate.

So a philosophical reply to your request might well consist in questions: why just one master? why a proper name? why ancient?

The world of philosophers has always been old (and new in another sense). Ours is older (and perhaps newer too). This is a difference within the difference, which must be taken into account as well.

Paraphrasing from Nietzsche (about deity), I would suggest that the essence of philosophy is that there are philosophers, not one philosopher. And only by exposing ourselves to their differences (which are contextual differences, in time, place, language, culture, before being differences in opinions or systems) can we learn to think with them and against them.

In French we have a number of good, interesting and lively introductions to ancient and modern philosophy for children, suited to their age. I don't know of anything equivalent in English but I'm sure there is.

jstalin

Thanks everyone, I had forgotten about Kant. I remember thinking highly of his categorical imperative: "No one is a means to an end, but an end in and of himself." Or something like that. I took a philsophy survey class in undergrad, but I don't remember all the specifics. I need to buy myself a philsophy book to get a wider view of the options.

Spook

Jstalin,

Stoicism is the main philosophical underpinning of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and is a great modern combo for you to look at when helping your children understand themselves and others.

For children, I'd encourage the humanist moral principle of doing no unnecessary harm. Instead of specific rules. The paradox of incomplete knowledge is a valuable one for any skeptically minded child - though I am clearly biased here. I'd stay away from metaphysics of any kind even though tots make pretty good dualists.

You may struggle with ancient philosophical systems... Most of them contain some really neat nuggets of gold - but almost universally they will have bizarre or now clearly overturned trapings tied in.

The skeptics have a pretty cool children's book out there called Maybe Right, Maybe Wrong.

Mrs. Fiorini

A more modern (from the enlightenment) philosophical view is humanism. Try checking it out, it may be up your alley. It also has the advantage of fitting very well into today's western world.

jwfacts

It is a great question, and I have been wondering the same now that I have a 1 year old son. I don't think there is necessarily a single source of wisdom, and many of the old philosophies may not deal adequately with current issues. Nor do I think there are black and white answers, such as "harming others is wrong" There are times when harming others may be necessary. Where you stand will depend on how you place the rights of the individual in comparison with the rights of society. The best approach is to educate your children through a wide range of sources and discuss their various merits in a range of situations.

quietlyleaving

I have dabbled in philosphy and find that many of the philosophers were replying to other philosophers and to thinkers of their age and in so doing also illuminated powerful insights and questions.

For example Spinoza admired the way Euclid made his deductions from explict assumptions. He also studied Descartes in depth but questioned and opposed his thinking about the duality of the mind and body. Interestingingly Spinoza by todays standards would be considered an atheist. Children imo are on the way to being natural philosophers. They ask a lot of questions especially "why". Your answer then leads to another "why" and endlessly. I think an important point is to give open answers and any story book that you read with them may be an opportunity to conduct such conversations. Modern life can tend to seem to trivialise life and meaning in some respects and teaching your children to think as an individual in that sense is great.

I really like the way the enlightenment humanists thought/think and also have a lot of sympathy with the romantics. If your children are older it may be quite interesting to do projects about the backgrounds of artists and musicians to try and work out what they were/are trying to capture about the time and era. This will also engender the value of seeing other people's perspectives on their own terms.

I haven't come accross any specific books for children regarding philosophy in English and would be interested in some titles even if they are in French, Narkissos. My granddaughter is simultaneously learning 3 languages. Of course I'll let her parents read them first.