-
300Species and identityPhilosophy of Science 55 (3): 323-348. 1988.The purpose of this paper is to test the contemporary concept of biological species against some of the problems caused by treating species as spatiotemporally extended entities governed by criteria of persistence, identity, etc. After outlining the general problem of symmetric division in natural objects, I set out some useful distinctions (section 1) and confirm that species are not natural kinds (section 2). Section 3 takes up the separate issue of species definition, focusing on the Biologic…Read more
-
94Preparing Teachers to 'Teach' Philosophy for ChildrenJournal of Philosophy in Schools 1 (1). 2014.Like many others, I have resisted the idea that education, in general, is a form of training. We always talk about training for something, while an educated person is not educated for any one thing. But for this very reason, I do not wish to abandon the term ‘teacher training’ in favor of ‘teacher education’, although ideally I would prefer to speak of ‘teacher preparation’ because the term ‘training’ always reminds me of monkeys. I shall use the terms ‘training’ and ‘preparation’ interchangeabl…Read more
-
78Authenticity and Constructivism in EducationStudies in Philosophy and Education 28 (2): 135-151. 2008.This paper examines the concept of authenticity and its relevance in education, from a philosophical perspective. Under the heading of educational authenticity, I critique Fred Newmann’s views on authentic pedagogy and intellectual work. I argue against the notion that authentic engagement is usefully analyzed in terms of a relationship between school work and: “real” work. I also seek to clarify the increasingly problematic concept of constructivism, arguing that there are two distinct construc…Read more
-
78Identity, Citizenship and Moral EducationEducational Philosophy and Theory 43 (5): 484-505. 2011.Questions of identity such as ‘Who am I?’ are often answered by appeals to one or more affiliations with a specific nation (citizenship), culture, ethnicity, religion, etc. Taking as given the idea that identity over time—including identification and re-identification—for objects of a particular kind requires that there be criteria of identity appropriate to things of that kind, I argue that citizenship, as a ‘collectivist’ concept, does not generate such criteria for individual citizens, but th…Read more
-
66Concepts, Communities and the Tools of Good ThinkingInquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines 19 (2): 11-26. 2000.
-
45On the theme of “Teaching for Higher Order Thinking Skills”Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines 14 (4): 52-65. 1995.
-
34Agency, Thought, and Language: Analytic Philosophy Goes to School (review)Studies in Philosophy and Education 30 (4): 343-362. 2011.I take as my starting point recent concerns from within educational psychology about the need to treat the conceptual and philosophical underpinnings of empirical research in the field more seriously, specifically in the context of work on the self, mind and agency. Developing this theme, I find such conceptual support in the writings of P. F. Strawson and Donald Davidson, two giants of analytic philosophy in the second half of the Twentieth Century. Drawing particularly on Davidson’s later work…Read more
-
32Some Reflections on Inquiry, Community and PhilosophyInquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines 17 (1): 29-39. 1997.
-
29
-
25Educational Reform through Philosophy for ChildrenThinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children 7 (2): 32-39. 1987.
-
23McGinn and essential properties of natural kindsAustralasian Journal of Philosophy 58 (1). 1980.This Article does not have an abstract
-
21An “analytic” commentary on Gert biesta’s presentation: “Touching the soul: Education, philosophy and children in an age of instrumentalism”Childhood and Philosophy 13 (28). 2017.
-
19The dispositional indgredients at the heart of questioning and inquiryJournal of Philosophy in Schools 3 (2): 18-39. 2016.I offer a modified characterisation of the dispositional grounds of inquiry, in which both the state of knowledge of those involved and their desire for answers or solutions are supplemented by a more nuanced set of dispositions, central to which is the intended transition from a state of unsettlement to one of settlement with respect to those who ask and respond to the questions. I test this characterisation against the Question Quadrant, a familiar device used by philosophy in schools practiti…Read more
-
19Enriching the narratives we tell about ourselves and our identities: an educational response to populism and extremismEducational Philosophy and Theory 54 (1): 21-36. 2022.The normative ideals of democracy, trust and respect are under threat from the forces of populism and extremism. I argue for a recalibration of some basic ideas in the moral and social domains in which each person sees her/himself as one among others. I defend 0093The Principle of Personal Worth0094 which asserts that persons are more valuable than non-persons such as nations, religions, ethnicities, tribes, gangs, and cultures. The 0091collectivist0092 mentality denied by this principle is ofte…Read more
-
17Inquiry without standards: A reply to HandJournal of Philosophy in Schools 7 (2). 2020.In this ‘Reply’, I am critical of several aspects of Michael Hand’s paper ‘Moral education in the community of inquiry’. I do not agree that such terms as ‘standards’' 'and ‘directive' 'teaching’' 'are consistent with a proper understanding of 'inquiry 'generally, and 'philosophical inquiry', 'moral inquiry 'and 'community of inquiry', in particular. I also argue that the idea of 'openness', duly modified, remains central to all forms of inquiry, whether philosophical or otherwise. Finally, I ca…Read more
-
17Caring for the “Self as One Among Others”Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children 19 (4): 33-39. 2009.
-
11Economic Crises and EducationThinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children 20 (1-2): 44-49. 2012.The ongoing series of global financial crises offers some important philosophical lessons and insights for educators. The epistemological lesson is stark: we should beware of certainty and all claims to it. Were the disposition of generic skepticism in place at all levels of schooling, then the intellectual rigidity that has characterized economics as a “discipline” would be balanced by demands to consider possible alternatives. The ethical lessons to be learned include ensuring that ethics, as …Read more
-
7Places for ThinkingAustralian Council for Educational. 1999.Accompanying a series of visually and verbally challenging books for children, this manual provides teachers and parents with discussion plans, exercises and activities to guide children in an investigation of the philosophical ideas emerging from the storybooks.
-
7Philosophy and Democracy in Asia and the PacificThinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children 13 (3): 6-16. 1997.
-
6A Guided Tour of the Logic in Harry Stottlemeier's DiscoveryAnalytic Teaching and Philosophical Praxis 8 (2). 1987.Logic forms the spine or backbone of the Harry syllabus, although it is by no means the only philosophical theme that arises there. The nature of thoughts and the mind, reality, dreaming and imagination, the purposes of education, differences of degree and of kind, causation, freedom and responsibility, the concept of a rule, empathy, duties and rights, and the concept of personhood are also topics which belong to the tradition of philosophical inquiry.
-
WIGGINS, D., "Sameness and Substance" (review)Australasian Journal of Philosophy 59 (n/a): 229. 1981.
-
Motivation : A Philosophical and Psychological SynthesisIn Frédéric Guay (ed.), Self-concept, motivation, and identity underpinning success with research and practice, Information Age Publishing. 2015.
-
The federation debate : creating an Australasian networkIn Gilbert Burgh & Simone Thornton (eds.), Philosophical Inquiry with Children: The development of an inquiring society in Australia, Routledge. 2019.
-
Memo to Harry Stottlemeier and friends : you are not wanted here" : reflections on the idea of a philosophy curriculum in AustraliaIn Gilbert Burgh & Simone Thornton (eds.), Philosophical Inquiry with Children: The development of an inquiring society in Australia, Routledge. 2019.
-
Philosophy for children in Confucian societies : the case of JapanIn Chi-Ming Lam (ed.), Philosophy for Children in Confucian Societies: In Theory and Practice, Routledge. 2019.
Areas of Specialization
History of Western Philosophy |
Asian Philosophy |