UniSA Open Journal System (Univ. of South Australia)
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Inquiry and growth: The dance of teaching and learning
No full textThe notions of ‘growth’ and ‘inquiry’ are central in the Philosophy for Children movement. Phil Cam’s writings on these concepts clearly map their close connection and, in the process, raise further questions for teachers of philosophy on curriculum content and the management of inquiry itself. With reference to the senior secondary context, I show how Cam’s exposition points to the teacher’s significant role, not only in the management of inquiry, but also in his or her participation as a learner in the process. Furthermore, this learning goes beyond academic and pedagogical dimensions to ones involving personal development and character. In conclusion, I suggest that recognition of this deeper dimension of teacher quality is particularly needful today
Editorial
No full textThis year the Journal of Philosophy in Schools kicked off with a special issue, volume 5 number 1, comprising seven invited articles that addressed the foundational question of why philosophy should be taught in schools. Deftly guest edited by Michael Hand from the University of Birmingham, the papers make a cumulative and convincing argument for why philosophy should be taught across the pre-tertiary educational curriculum. The issue makes a strong argument that may be used to defend and propagate the philosophy in schools movement. We hope it will be used pragmatically, politically, and persuasively by our readers to raise awareness and further the cause of teaching philosophy to young people and extending philosophy beyond the Academy.This issue honours one person who has dedicated his career to furthering this cause. Philip Cam is an international authority on philosophy in schools who has been a pioneer in introducing philosophy and ethics into schools in Australia. Phil completed his MA in Philosophy at the University of Adelaide and his DPhil at the University of Oxford. He is Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Humanities and Languages at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, where he has been for over 30 years. In the various positions Phil has held at UNSW, in the Philosophy in Schools Association for NSW, and for the Federation of Australasian Philosophy in Schools Associations (FAPSA), he has worked hard, inspired and taught many, and contributed much to the shape of philosophy in schools across Australasia. This year, a little bird informed the JPS that Phil was retiring and turning 70, even while he continues to be productive, publishing, presenting and assisting with philosophy in schools projects and events. The opportunity thus presented itself to publish a collection of papers critically engaged with Cam’s work. Two further articles are included in this issue.
Deep thinking and high ceilings: Using philosophy to challenge ‘more able’ pupils
No full textAt different times in their school career and across different subject areas, some pupils may require additional and/or more complex tasks from their teachers, since they find the work set to be insufficiently challenging. Recommendations for coping with these pupils’ needs are varied, but among other responses, it is common, in the field of ‘gifted and talented’ education, to advocate the use of critical thinking programmes. These can be very effective in providing the missing challenge through helping develop pupils’ facilities for building and defending rational argument. However, the exercises can be just that; mental agility tasks that lack relevant context. When children engage in learning philosophy in school, they benefit from the experience of developing logical, rigorous argument; but the subject can offer more than critical skills practice. Since philosophy attends to questions about things that matter in pupils’ lives, discussions can have an ethical and moral dimension and as such can be more than an intellectual exercise. Pupils of all abilities and propensities can become involved in the discussions, but the open nature of the areas of debate lends itself particularly well to providing challenge for pupils who need enriched and extended tasks in order to remain engaged. Some of the well-rehearsed Philosophy with/for Children methods are also designed to help develop mutual respect and understanding and so philosophy not only appeals to the cognitive and intellectual in children, but places this development in a context that fosters positive personal qualities
The cooperative principle and collaborative inquiry
No full textThe norms associated with HP Grice’s cooperative principle focus on exchange of information and require considerable extension in order to capture the presiding features of discourse that attempts to inquire into a problem or an issue. These features are revealed by looking at the case of collaborative philosophical inquiry. Although it is a special case, the findings have widespread implications for education. When teachers venture beyond the kind of informative discourse that has traditionally monopolised verbal exchange in the classroom and engage in collaborative inquiry-based teaching, they need to attend to the norms that govern such discourse
The ethics of narrative art: Philosophy in schools, compassion and learning from stories
No full textFollowing neo-Aristotelians Alasdair MacIntyre and Martha Nussbaum, we claim that humans are story-telling animals who learn from the stories of diverse others. Moral agents use rational emotions, such as compassion, which is our focus here, to imaginatively reconstruct others’ thoughts, feelings and goals. In turn, this imaginative reconstruction plays a crucial role in deliberating and discerning how to act. A body of literature has developed in support of the role narrative artworks (i.e. novels and films) can play in allowing us the opportunity to engage imaginatively and sympathetically with diverse characters and scenarios in a safe protected space that is created by the fictional world. By practising what Nussbaum calls a ‘loving attitude’, her version of ethical attention, we can form virtuous habits that lead to phronesis (practical wisdom). In this paper, and taking compassion as an illustrative focus, we examine the ways that students’ moral education might usefully develop from engaging with narrative artworks through Philosophy for Children (P4C), where philosophy is a praxis, conducted in a classroom setting using a Community of Inquiry (CoI). We argue that narrative artworks provide useful stimulus material to engage students, generate student questions, and motivate philosophical dialogue and the formation of good habits, which, in turn, supports the argument for philosophy to be taught in schools
Double trouble: Numerous puzzles
No full textPhilip Cam’s Double Trouble can be found in his 1998 collection Twister, Quibbler, Puzzler, Cheat. This story is an especial favourite of mine, which I have used successfully with classes from mid-primary to senior secondary (and with adults).This paper consists of two parts: the story in full; and an exploration of the philosophical background to many of the ideas contained in the story, including some references to discussions of the ideas in the philosophical tradition to support facilitators who use the story within a community of inquiry. I will consider three central issues in some detail, and four other emergent issues more briefly. In conclusion, I offer some more general thoughts as to how facilitators can prepare for using the story
On the distinctive educational value of philosophy
No full textShould philosophy be a compulsory subject in schools? I take it as read that philosophy has general educational value: like other academic disciplines, it cultivates a range of intellectual virtues in those who study it. But that may not be a good enough reason to add it to the roster of established school subjects. The claim I defend in this article is that philosophy also has distinctive educational value: there are philosophical problems that feature prominently and pressingly in ordinary human lives and that all children should be equipped by their education to tackle. Among these are the problems of justifying subscription to moral, political and religious standards. The significance of these problems for everyone is sufficient to warrant the inclusion of philosophy in the school curriculum
Evaluating Australia's New Anti-Piracy Website Blocking Laws
No full textIn an attempt to tackle the pervasive problem of online copyright infringement, the Federal Parliament of Australia inserted s 115A into the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) in 2015. Section 115A essentially permits the Federal Court of Australia to order an Internet Service Provider to block access to an overseas website that has the primary purpose of infringing, or facilitating the infringement of, copyright. This article provides readers with an in-depth summary of the origins, legal context and scope of s 115A followed by an analysis of the way that it has been applied in the four cases to date. It also considers the accuracy of the two main criticisms of s 115A — that it can be too easily circumvented and that it is an improper substitute for the improved delivery of licensed copyright material to Australian consumers. It argues that copyright owners, rather than ISPs, will likely have to bear the costs of any injunction granted under s 115A and that the Federal Court of Australia has been alert to the need to balance a variety of interests in website blocking applications. This article concludes that although some criticisms of s 115A are justified, website blocking still has a legitimate role in reducing online copyright infringement in Australia
Editorial
No full textMuch ink has been spilt on the question of how philosophy might be taught in schools—on the forms of pedagogy appropriate to the subject, the levels of abstraction at which children can think, and the philosophical problems most likely to inspire their interest. Rather less attention has been given to exactly why it should be taught. Perhaps, to most philosophers involved in classroom experimentation, the benefits of acquainting children with philosophy have seemed self-evident and the burning question has been how to go about it. But, in fact, the benefits are not self-evident. And even if they were, it would remain to be shown that they are equal to or greater than the benefits of the other subjects and activities vying for space in the school curriculum.The contributors to this special issue of Journal of Philosophy in Schools take up this challenge. Their remit was to advance and defend answers to the question ‘Why should philosophy be taught in schools?’ While the contributors differ in their conceptions of philosophy and their reasons for championing it, their arguments are largely complementary and make a compelling cumulative case for the inclusion of philosophy in the school curriculum
Responding to Doxing in Australia: Towards a Right to Informational Self-Determination
No full textDoxing is the term used to describe the act of publicly revealing an individual’s personal information without their permission. It is a problem that concerns informational privacy and data protection. This article argues that the Australian Parliament should provide individuals with a right to informational self-determination and adopt a holistic approach to personal data protection. Part I defines the different aspects of doxing and identifies the adverse effects that doxing can have on victims. Part II considers the right to informational self-determination, before Part III examines solutions to the doxing problem. This article concludes that the Australian Parliament should consider enacting a statutory cause of action for a serious invasion of privacy that provides redress for doxing victims and introduces personal data protection regulations modelled on Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation