Eight Tips for Building Philosophical Thinking Skills in Your Lessons

To nurture philosophical thinking skills in their lessons, teachers should encourage their students to explore and question fundamental concepts and assumptions. Teachers can facilitate this by creating opportunities for students to engage in open-ended discussions, debates, and inquiry-based activities that challenge students to think critically and creatively. Additionally, teachers can introduce philosophical concepts and theories in a way that is accessible and engaging for students, using real-world examples to illustrate abstract ideas. Finally, teachers can create a classroom culture that values diverse perspectives and encourages respectful dialogue, empowering students to develop empathy and respect for different viewpoints. By nurturing philosophical thinking skills in their lessons, teachers can help students to develop a more nuanced understanding of complex issues, to think more deeply and critically, and to become more engaged and responsible citizens.

These eight simple tips will help you to inspire philosophical thinking in your lessons!

1. Encourage questioning and curiosity: Teachers should create an environment that encourages questioning and curiosity. This means fostering an atmosphere where students feel comfortable asking questions and exploring different perspectives.
   

2. Encourage respectful dialogue: Teachers should encourage students to engage in respectful dialogue and to listen to each other's ideas. This means teaching students to express themselves respectfully and to consider the viewpoints of others.
   

3. Use open-ended questions: Teachers should use open-ended questions that encourage students to think deeply and critically about the subject matter. This means avoiding yes/no questions and instead using questions that require thoughtful analysis and interpretation.
   

4. Teach students to evaluate evidence: Teachers should teach students how to evaluate evidence critically and to distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources. This means teaching students to look for evidence-based arguments and to be wary of sources that are biased or unreliable.
   

5. Teach students to identify assumptions: Teachers should teach students how to identify assumptions in arguments and to evaluate them critically. This means teaching students to look for unstated assumptions and to evaluate whether they are reasonable or not.
   

6. Teach students to evaluate arguments: Teachers should teach students how to evaluate arguments critically and to identify logical fallacies. This means teaching students to identify the different types of fallacies and to evaluate whether an argument is valid or not.
   

7. Encourage creativity: Teachers should encourage creativity in their lessons and allow students to explore different ways of thinking about the subject matter. This means fostering an atmosphere where students feel comfortable expressing themselves creatively and exploring new ideas.
   

8. Provide opportunities for reflection: Teachers should provide opportunities for reflection in their lessons, where students can think deeply about what they have learned and how it relates to their own lives. This means encouraging students to reflect on their own beliefs and values and to consider how they relate to the subject matter.

A final tip: Teach students how philosophical arguments work!

Learning how philosophical arguments work, how to evaluate whether arguments are valid and sound, and how to map out arguments in terms of premises and conclusions can have numerous benefits for students. Firstly, it helps to develop their critical thinking skills, enabling them to think more logically, independently, and analytically. By learning how to identify the structure of arguments, students can become better equipped to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different perspectives and to identify fallacious reasoning.

Secondly, learning about how philosophical arguments work can help students to become more effective communicators. By learning how to map out arguments in terms of premises and conclusions, students can develop the ability to articulate their ideas more clearly and to present them in a logical and persuasive way. This skill is invaluable in a wide range of fields, including law, politics, and journalism.

Finally, learning about philosophical arguments can help students to develop a more nuanced and sophisticated understanding of complex issues. By analyzing and evaluating different arguments, students can learn to appreciate the complexity of different perspectives and to understand the underlying assumptions and values that inform them. This can foster a greater appreciation for diversity and different ways of thinking, as well as a greater capacity for empathy and understanding.