Laura D'Olimpio

Educating against extremism doesn't just involve seeking to prevent individuals from becoming extremists or radicalized, although that, of course, is a significant concern. There is also an important role for education in teaching the rest of us, the general populace, the best way to react and respond when we learn of a terrorist attack or consider the potential risk of violent extremism in our community, or even worldwide, given we are connected globally via technology. In this article, Laura D'Olimpio argues that educators have a central role to play in teaching young people to respond to the news of violent extremism and the worry about terrorists and terrorism in ways that support our sense of community and personal well-being. Among the ways in which educators may support such aims is by educating the emotions. There are practical and moral reasons to temper our fearful reactions, and it is in our best interest to educate pupils to avoid allowing fear of terrorists or violent extremism to interfere with their daily lives and actions. D'Olimpio claims that our best response to extremism, both representationally and practically, is to refuse to be terrified. By not being overwhelmed by fear or altering our day-to-day activities, we not only better support a well-functioning democracy and our own happiness or flourishing, but we also disempower rather than empower extremists.

We are pleased to publish Volume 4 Number 1 of Journal of Philosophy in Schools in an open-access format. This issue contains five original articles exploring the efficacy of teaching philosophy to children in a variety of countries and cultural contexts. In this issue, we have researchers and practitioners represented from Hawai‘i, Israel, Canada, America and the United Kingdom. This international and multicultural mix serves to remind us that philosophy can be taught in any country and with children of all ages, although some local, religious and cultural considerations and sensitivities ought to be applied in relevant ways to pedagogical praxis.

It is with pleasure that we welcome new and returning readers to the third issue of the Journal of Philosophy in Schools. Our second issue, published earlier this year, has reinforced the fact that there is an enthusiastic audience for academic research and reflection on philosophy with children, philosophy in schools and, by extension, philosophy and education. As of 1st November 2015, issue 2 had received over 16,943 total abstract views, giving an average of over 2420 views per article. Total article downloads were over 5222, giving the issue an average article download of over 746. We thank you for your continued support and are excited to report that we have 1316 Facebook ‘likes’ for our page, and 528 followers on Twitter. These figures have doubled in the last six months since the last issue of the JPS was published.

Educating against extremism doesn't just involve seeking to prevent individuals from becoming extremists or radicalized, although that, of course, is a significant concern. There is also an important role for education in teaching the rest of us, the general populace, the best way to react and respond when we learn of a terrorist attack or consider the potential risk of violent extremism in our community, or even worldwide, given we are connected globally via technology. In this article, Laura D'Olimpio argues that educators have a central role to play in teaching young people to respond to the news of violent extremism and the worry about terrorists and terrorism in ways that support our sense of community and personal well-being. Among the ways in which educators may support such aims is by educating the emotions. There are practical and moral reasons to temper our fearful reactions, and it is in our best interest to educate pupils to avoid allowing fear of terrorists or violent extremism to interfere with their daily lives and actions. D'Olimpio claims that our best response to extremism, both representationally and practically, is to refuse to be terrified. By not being overwhelmed by fear or altering our day-to-day activities, we not only better support a well-functioning democracy and our own happiness or flourishing, but we also disempower rather than empower extremists.

The Affect of good artworks can be difficult to explain or describe, particularly in relation to conceptual art. The experiential process of engaging with an artwork involves the spectator perceiving the physical art object as well as receiving a concept. For an aesthetic experience to result, or for the viewer to be affected, the artist must be skilled and the receiver must adopt the relevant attitude. Many theorists argue that the correct attitude to adopt is one that is objective and ‘disinterested’. I argue that a ‘loving’ attitude, in the Iris Murdoch / Martha Nussbaum sense derived from an ethics of care / virtue ethics framework is also appropriate when engaging with art in order to achieve an aesthetic affect. This open, caring attitude requires the receiver to be receptive to the concepts contained within the work as well as its formal features. If the concepts implored are ethical or social, a disinterested attitude may impede the appropriate up-take of intended affect. Therefore, I argue that pure aesthetes are misguided when they take their ‘disinterested’ attitude too far and argue that ethical judgements do not apply to art qua art. If the artist is making an ethical point, or if the concept involved relies on ethics, then a caring critique is not a contradiction in terms; the viewer is encouraged to adopt multiple perspectives in order to get closer to an objective whole. I will explore the notion of affect through the art of a contemporary, conceptual Western Australian artist, Steven Morgana

Welcome to the fourth issue of the Journal of Philosophy in Schools. 2016 marks our third year of publishing the JPS online in an open-access forum, and we are so pleased with the support and positive responses we continue to receive for this initiative. We are delighted to offer you another five original articles in this issue that all engage with how philosophy is practiced with young people in various educational contexts. We are also steadily growing our social media presence and are excited to report that we now have 1797 Facebook ‘likes’ for our page, and 731 followers on Twitter. Our statistics in terms of article views and downloads is equally impressive. As of 1st May 2016, and taken together, the three previously published issues had received over 109,814 total abstract views, giving an average of 4,393 views per article. Total article downloads across the three issues are 38,379, giving an average article download of 1,535. This demonstrates the vitality of the audience interested in, researching, and practicing philosophy in their classrooms with students of all ages. We thank you for your continued support of the JPS and encourage you to continue to spread the word.

What is knowledge? What makes me, me? Do we have free will? People have been asking such fundamental questions about the nature of reality for centuries, but how can they help us make sense of our existence in a 21st-century world of social media, cyber wars, cloning, artificial intelligence and virtual reality? Short Cuts: Philosophy provides the map you need to travel beyond traditional foundations and explore a diverse array of deep thinkers. Soul-searching questions prompt 'short cut' answers written by experts in their field, with each one the setting-off point for instructions that plot a path through the philosophical landscape. With 'one-stop' graphics visualizing a memorable theory or idea for each concept, and 'route map' glossaries explaining key words and their connections, Short Cuts: Philosophy will help you wrestle with the meaning of ancient and modern philosophical thought.

Welcome to the second issue of the Journal of Philosophy in Schools. We are pleased to report that our first issue received a wonderful reception. As of the 5th May 2015 the issue had received over 44,500 total abstract views, giving an average of over 4000 views per article. Total article downloads were over 6000, giving the issue an average article download of over 550. We have 853 Facebook ‘likes’ for our page, and 372 followers on Twitter. We thank you for your support and hope to continue the conversation about philosophy in schools and with school-aged children. With this in mind, it is our pleasure to launch the second issue, the first for 2015, which includes four brand new articles and a book review. We have also decided to continue the tradition of including a seminal article from Critical & Creative Thinking with a new introductory note by its author.

This 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, 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.

Laura D'Olimpio argues that aesthetic education ought to be a compulsory part of education for all students, from pre-primary through to high school, as it is essential that young people have the opportunity to make art, experience and understand art and be informed as to the artistic history and aesthetic theories that have shaped their own culture and others. The book defends arts education on the basis of art's distinctive value and centrality to human experience. It also engages with topics such as the art teacher's role in the classroom, curricula concerns and gleaning moral meanings from artworks.

Social media is a key player in contemporary political, cultural and ethical debates. Given much of online engagement is characterised by impulsive and emotive responses, and social media platforms encourage a form of sensationalism that promotes epistemic vices, this paper explores whether there is space online for moral responses. This paper defends the need for moral engagement with online information and others, using an attitude entitled ‘critical perspectivism’. Critical perspectivism sees a moral agent adopt a critical eye, supplemented by a caring disposition, when engaging with interactive digital media and the stories of others that are technologically mediated. Such an ethical attitude is required given our globally connected, technological world features new versions of recognisable challenges to democracy and the reasonableness of citizens. There is a vital role for educationalists to play in teaching and making space and time for students to practice being critically perspectival.

Welcome to a special issue of the 'Journal of Philosophy in Schools' that explores whether moral education may take place in the community of philosophical inquiry by practitioners of philosophy in schools. To be even more specific, the issue hotly debated in this, Volume 7 Number 2 of the JPS, is whether there is room for directive teaching within the CoI. Given that ethical issues are significant, divisive, and central to the well-lived life, it matters whether they can be taught and/or discussed and debated in appropriate ways with young people. Included in this special issue are different arguments as to whether the CoI is the right place for moral inquiry, and how moral debate, moral instruction, moral formation and ethical inquiry may best be facilitated with young people in educational settings using philosophical tools and techniques. Of particular concern is how such moral education may occur whilst avoiding the charge of indoctrination.

In A Theory of Moral Education, Michael Hand defends the importance of teaching children moral standards, even while taking seriously the fact that reasonable people disagree about morality. While I agree there are universal moral values based on the kind of beings humans are, I raise two issues with Hand’s account. The first is an omission that may be compatible with Hand’s theory; the role of virtues. A role for the cultivation of virtues and rational emotions such as compassion is vital in accounting for the emotional aspect of morality. The second issue pertains to Hand’s foundational premise of human beings’ rough equality. Following Martha Nussbaum, I argue that contractarian approaches must be critically evaluated to ensure the social contract properly includes and accounts for the human dignity of those who are typically excluded from the benefits of society. Hand’s justificatory arguments rely upon a contractarian premise, and the contract itself needs scrutiny and adjustment if it is to support a viable theory of moral education.

'Welcome to our new open access publishing platform ‘Ubiquity’ and a big thank you to the University of Birmingham for hosting us here! The Library Services team have been absolutely amazing and we are pleased to publish Volume 7 Number 1 of ''Journal of Philosophy in Schools ' online and in an open-access format. We also wish to thank our wonderful copy-editor Anne Morrison, for her continued assistance and valuable input into the JPS. During these unprecedented times of lockdown and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we hope there are some interesting ideas in here to distract and inspire you. With more parents involved in home schooling their children, we are grateful to the philosophy in schools community who have offered their support in unique ways. Check out the free resources and online lessons from our friends at The Philosophy Foundation, The Philosophy Man and others, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @JournalP4C where we will continue to share more resources and articles. Our first issue for this year contains six original articles that explore how ‘philosophy’ is defined in the philosophy for children literature, and how it works best in various teaching contexts. Some of the papers from this and the forthcoming issue were initially presented at the 2018 FAPSA Conference which was held at The University of Notre Dame Australia’s Fremantle Campus 10-11 July, 2018 with an In-Action Day at Hale School 9 July.

There is a debate within philosophy of literature as to whether narrative artworks should be judged morally, for their ethical value, meaning and impact. On one side you have the aesthetes, defenders of aestheticism, who deny the ethical value of an artwork can be taken into consideration when judging the work’s overall aesthetic value. Richard Posner backs artists such as Oscar Wilde who famously wrote, ‘there is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all’. On the other side of the debate are proponents of ethical criticism such as Martha Nussbaum, Wayne Booth, Noël Carroll and Mary Devereaux. This article examines the educational implications of each position and ultimately defends the importance of moral education alongside aesthetic education. Given artworks are powerful vehicles for moral sentiments and meaning, it is important that viewers are taught to engage critically with art’s ethical features as well as aesthetic features. In this way, educational concerns pose a challenge to the position of aestheticism.