Philosophy for All

Thinking with others helps us to think for ourselves. If you only have your own voice in your head then you are talking in a silo. Other people’s perspectives and experiences, even the way they think, can change our own thinking. So, on World Philosophy Day we want everyone to think together with others.

My co-Director (Director of P4C) Grace has created this “Big Decisions” resource which can be used in classrooms, over dinner, after school, after work, in the pub or the boardroom.

In this resource, we are asked to think about the possibility of a future where a hypothetical AI App (Decide4me) can help make decisions for you. Would you use it? What would you use it for? What happens if you disagree with its choice? What if the only way to get ahead in the world was to use it? If everyone used it, who is really in control?

Of course, if you try using these questions, or this resource, out of the blue, then you may find people looking at you strangely or ignoring you entirely. So how do you start philosophising with others?

For a start:

Be patient.

If you’ve not asked these sorts of questions before you may get a shrug at best. But keep asking, or gently probing to find out what they think. Show that you don’t know the answer yourself (see below) and that’s okay.

The resource starts with a very short ‘would you rather’ exercise, which is about exploring dilemmas. You can just get a short answer and move onto the next one, or you can start to ask them ‘why’ to see how far they get.

Scott Hershowitz in his wonderful book, Nasty, Brutish and Short: Adventures in Philosophy with Kids (which you can be in with a chance of winning today…) gives these good questions to ask:

• What do you think?
• Why do you think so?
• Can you think of reasons you might be wrong?
• What do you mean by…?
• What is…?

Listen to their answers and see if you can get ‘just one more thing’ out of them by asking another question. The role of ‘questioner’ can be passed around the group. When in this role try just asking the questions, instead of offering your opinion or ideas; just find out more from the group.

The easiest way to do this is to:

Be philosophical.

Be humble, consider that you might be wrong, or that you might not know the answer.

Think of yourself as outside of the group. You could imagine that you are an open-minded alien who has no concept of the ideas under discussion, but wants to know the answers and to find out more.

Model to the group open-minded questioning and rigorous thinking, because being philosophical doesn’t mean accepting everything, it’s about seeing different perspectives, considering the reasoning or arguments, and then evaluating what you think the answer might be.

But whatever you do, don’t become Socrates and start asking questions you think you know the answer to! If in doubt:

Be quiet.

And listen. I mean really listen – what are they saying, or trying to say? Ask more questions to see if you can find out a bit more, don’t just assume you understand what they mean by a particular word or phrase. And take time to think about what you’ve heard. Don’t be afraid of silence.

Pause for thought and allow yourself, and others to think.

Finally, as a group:

Be curious.

Consider the big questions hidden underneath. Dig deeper and think about what other questions are lurking there in the conversation that haven’t yet been explored. Does an answer open up more questions, or does the question itself have assumptions within it that may prompt yet further questions?

Thinking about the resource provided above, further questions about the ‘Decide4me’ app include:

• Would you make big decisions using the Decide4me app?
• Would you make small decisions using the app? What about big decisions?
• Would the app work in all areas of human decision-making?
• Are there some instances where the app would make a better decision than a human?
• What – if anything – can a human decision-maker bring to a decision that a computer can’t?
• What is a good decision?

Once you’ve exhausted a question (can a question ever be exhausted? Probably not, but it might get a bit dull or irritating after a while!) apply this thinking to other things you share.

What questions can you find in books or stories you read with your children, in TV shows you watch with friends or partners, and in films you all see together? Here are a few examples:

The Bear – a fabulous TV show on Disney Plus about family ties and commitments within a (failing?) restaurant, this show is for adults.

• What makes a good restaurant? What is good?
• What is it to be a family? Can friends be a family? Can family not be a friend?

Ghosts – a very funny BBC sitcom about a haunted house, for the whole family.

• What makes something real? What is real?
• How do we know when something is real?
• Who owns the house? What is ownership?

My Octopus Teacher – a nature documentary (family-friendly) about a filmmaker and an octopus he makes friends with.

• Can humans learn from animals? Can animals learn from humans?
• What is learning? What is teaching?
• Can an octopus be a teacher?

Always be questioning – and if your child turns round and tells you to ‘stop philosophising me’, you know you are winning. At least that’s what I think when my daughter says this to me. (Of course, I do listen to her and stop philosophising when told. But sometimes the annoying questions just keep coming up, and occasionally she starts it! )

Happy World Philosophy Day all. Don’t be afraid to be annoying!