Is It Really Just About The Questions?
Whether you think a child’s capacity for asking big questions is charming or annoying, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by it. Without a doubt, the questions are important, and should be encouraged, but if you’re looking to have your child become a better critical thinker, asking is only the first step.
In philosophy (even kids’ philosophy), big questions don’t generally have only one answer, but that doesn’t mean that anything goes, or that you can just drop it and assume it’s been answered. There are rules and guidelines for working through a big question, and even young kids need to learn them.
So, here are some basics:
1. “I don’t know” is an acceptable (and sometimes preferred) starting point. “Just because”, “I said so” and “whatever you think is fine” are not. If you’re going to give an answer, you need to explain why you think the way you do. Reasons and evidence are just as important as the question.
2. Everyone must be given a chance to contribute to a conversation. Leaving anyone out means missing out on possible answers, and discouraging another thinker.
3. It’s okay to change your mind as new ideas and reasons are presented, even if it’s much later on. In fact, it’s necessary.
4. Conversations with young thinkers may only last five or ten minutes, and that’s fine. There are big questions that have been under investigation for thousands of years, that have been revisited by some of the world’s greatest thinkers. You can always come back to them later.
5. Enthusiasm is welcome, but anger, name-calling, and general disrespect, are not. Disagreement is all part of the fun, but it can (and must) be peaceful.
6. Reason and logic can be found in all kinds of unexpected places. You and your child should always be on the lookout for new bits of information to add to your conversations.
7. There are lengthy lists of logical fallacies (errors in argumentation) that philosophers look out for. They’re worth looking up, but generally speaking, they fall into two categories: not giving enough information to back up a question, and not giving the right information. Avoid them both.
In critical thinking and philosophy, the journey is much more important than the destination. The questions themselves are the starting point, and they often don’t have an end. The ongoing conversations about them are where the best learning opportunities sit. Set down some ground rules, and enjoy the journey! Regardless of where it takes you, you’ll all become better thinkers.
If you’d like a little help getting started, check out “Tinker Thinkers”, our book/interactive ebook designed to help little thinkers build and test arguments. Available in English and French!
