Next week is International Women’s Week, so we’re celebrating the work of some philosophy women. Below, a very user-friendly resource inspired by the work of Philippa Foot, and below that, a special offer for Greater London schools, but first, two book recommendations.
The Philosopher Queens: The lives and legacies of philosophy’s unsung women addresses the problem outlined in this revealing video. 21 women working in philosophy today have each written about diverse figures from Diotima of Ancient Greece to Hannah Arendt.
Within the P4C world, Sara Stanley’s Why Think: Philosophical Play from 3-11 is packed with ideas and has the great benefit of containing many transcripts of philosophical conversations with younger children.
Trolleyology
This is one of the original “trolley problems” in a genre of philosophical dilemma that started with Philippa Foot and via Judith Jarvis Thomson has created a popular branch of philosophy, a rather good board game, Trial by Trolley, and countless hours of debate. You can see many more at neal.fun “Absurd Trolley Problems”, each exploring a different moral dilemma. They make excellent starting points for conversations, as each introduces an extra element to the scenario.
Tom Needs Your Questions
Back with us, Tom has been hit by repetitive strain injury. So that he can be productive and avoid the frustration of not being able to write bulletins etc., he’s going to produce a set of “Tom’s Tips”, short videos answering your questions about P4C. They could be:
-How to improve an aspect of your philosophy sessions or deal with a problem
-Seeking ideas for a particular topic, text, theme or group of learners
-Seeking ideas for whole-school approaches to an aspect of P4C
Just reply to this email with your question, Jason will batch them up and Tom will respond to as many as he can (likely all of them unless we get an absolute flood).
Discounted Workshops & Training for London Schools
For schools in Greater London, we’re offering some discounted prices on workshops, INSET, curriculum clinics and events for the rest of this half term: if Tom is in a school, he’ll be away from mouse and keyboard and can speed his recovery! Email tom@thephilosophyman.com if you might be interested and please include a phone number so that he can ring you, rather than getting into email tag.
Best wishes,
Jason
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