Abstract:

The Philosophy for Children programme is aimed to develop critical, creative and caring thinking. This programme relates to cognitive enhancements not only in the area of intellectual intelligence, but also in the area of moral and social intelligence. Its main pillars cover reading of a literary story, formulation of questions, discussion according to defined rules and education activities. It has been designed to facilitate children or students expressing their own thoughts, learning how to accept or reject other people´s opinions or how to rely on their own judgment. The present times are characterized through a statement that says that we live in information times whereas a large amount of received information causes problems even when we read. The ability to think critically represents the efficient way how to protect future generations from manipulation and superficial information. Through this paper, we present the importance of both critical thinking and moral reasoning through the community of inquiry, which is the central method of the programme. This article may inspire its readers to look at the programme from other perspective.

Keywords:

Philosophy for Children, critical thinking, moral reasoning, community of inquiry, ethical inquiry.