O papel da narrativa para o filosofar na infância em Matthew Lipman

Abstract

This work delves into the universe of Philosophy Teaching in the most fundamental stage of education. The objective of this investigation is to analyze the pedagogical approach known as Philosophy for Children (FpC), developed by the American philosopher and educator Matthew Lipman. The aforementioned program aims, above all, to stimulate critical and reflective thinking from childhood, through philosophical activities that involve dialogues, questions and reflections on topics relevant to children's lives. To this end, this connection and the concepts that motivated the author to focus his approach on a sequence of novels that would encourage the flowering of "higher order" thinking in children are analyzed. In this sense, the guiding question of this philosophical work is: what is the role of narrative in teaching Philosophy for children according to Matthew Lipman? In this context, a topic will be elaborated on these three dimensions in a general aspect, that is, Literature, Philosophy and Childhood. After this, an attempt will be made to discuss the relationship between the program and the narrative, presenting the notion of a philosophical novel, with the program developed by Lipman as its thematic focus. By analyzing the Program and its methodological assumptions, we seek to understand how narratives are used at the elementary school stage in philosophy classes and what model of education is proposed to be achieved through them. Applied in several countries, FpC has shown positive results in relation to the development of cognitive skills, such as the ability to formulate questions, argue, analyze concepts and develop research skills. With this work, we intend to encourage debate about the idea of philosophizing with children, starting from their epistemic reality, providing conditions for them to perceive their daily lives in a critical and subversive way. Therefore, FpC can be an interesting path for education, especially the teaching of Philosophy, as it stimulates critical and reflective thinking from childhood, contributing to a more critical, responsible and autonomous formation.