Kfamily Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 (edited) Hi! Would you teach philosophy integrated over the high school years with history and literature or teach it as a separate subject in the upper years of high school? Which books often included on history or literature lists might double as a philosophy book? Or could at least be examined this way? I have Sophie's World and The Story of Philosophy. What books would be really important to have in addition to these two? Any advice welcome!:001_smile: Edited June 25, 2009 by Kfamily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
home2333 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 I think it would depend on the student. My children have had no interest in a separate course in philosophy. Studying philosophy chronologically makes a lot of sense, so I have tried to sneak it in with the history and literature course. My son, who just graduated high school (and will be taking a college intro to philosophy class this fall), learned quite a bit of philosophy doing Lincoln-Douglas debate, and my daughter, who will be a sophomore next year, will get an intro to philosophy the chronological way. I haven't read this book yet--only the excerpt that I found on Amazon--but you might look at Steve Wilkins' Good Ideas from Questionable Christians and Outright Pagans. Perhaps the book could be used as a very gentle introduction to philosophy. My "philosophy" is that it's best not to be too overwhelmed by a subject at first. I liked the sound of Wilkins' book because he looks at a single idea in a single work by about eight different philosophers. He also quotes extensively from the original works. Grace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfamily Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 Thanks Grace! I looked for your book suggestion at Amazon and it looks really interesting. I like the idea of taking one idea and showing each one's take on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asta Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 LCC2 recommends doing Philosophy as a stand alone course, and not until 11th or 12th grade. His rationale (that I happen to agree with) is that kids can't conceptualize at the level needed for real philosophy until minimally that age. a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfamily Posted June 24, 2009 Author Share Posted June 24, 2009 Thank you, Asta. I have LCC2 and knew it was set up that way and truthfully this is the way I had been leaning. I had also seen philosophy integrated and was curious how this was done and others' opinions on the two different approaches. I could use The Story of Philosophy with Sophie's World as an introduction before following the plan in LCC2. (Maybe ??) I still have much to learn but getting feedback from others is so helpful in that cause. :D It is so overwhelming sometimes and I can't say how much it helps when others respond back with advice or opinions. Thanks again Asta! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asta Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 I plan on starting selections from Kreeft's Socratic Logic with kiddo this fall, along with Corbett's Rhetoric. He is currently working through the Critical Thinking Mind Benders C1-C3. From what I understood in LCC2 (and I may have botched this), it's like they all follow one another; that philosophy doesn't really have a "place" until a person can both understand the structure of argument and how it should be expressed. I can tell you that this year we used TRISMS, which integrates short lessons on rhetoric, logic and philosophy, and it wasn't the best for my son. He's more of a "but where did this come from/what is this based in" kind of person, so getting bits and pieces drove him batty. I realize, of course, that for some people, this would work just fine - but he will need things as "stand-alones". Good luck in your search, a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 I think you can integrate bits and pieces, and expose them to terminology and ideas that way, but I don't think you can effectively integrate a full philosophy course. There's nothing wrong with going the bits and pieces route; they will still be exposed to a lot of ideas that many students wont', but I don't see it equalling a full course of concentrated study. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
home2333 Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 I don't think the Wilkins book discusses how all the philosophers look at one idea, but rather how one of the philosophers looks at one idea. There are about eight broad ideas discussed. But the book really seems to focus its approach by looking at just one idea per philosopher. Grace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kate in seattle Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Hi! Which books often included on history or literature lists might double as a philosophy book? Or could at least be examined this way? Any advice welcome!:001_smile: I guess I have included philosophy/theology along with history & great books. I tends towards political philosophy (because I had some training in that area). The Republic - Plato Nichomachean Ethics - Aristotle Confessions - Augustine (last 3 - 4 books) I would think part of City of God - Augustine (shame - i haven't read this) Consolation of Philosophy - boethius nearly anything by Acquinas Locke Hume Pascal Paine John Stuart Mills Rousseau (I am shooting from the hip here - I would have to look at a list) I enjoyed Sophie's World and assigned it as summer reading one year (after year 2 or 3) to act as a crash course/reminder for students. I like the Intro to Philosophy book as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfamily Posted June 25, 2009 Author Share Posted June 25, 2009 Thanks everyone! home2333-Sorry, about that-I misunderstood you. Thanks for straightening me out. The book really does look very interesting. I will keep that in my Amazon wish list.:001_smile: Kate-Thank you for the booklist! I have printed this out and will have it for reference. It's exactly what I was looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janice H Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 please consider this important experience from OhElizabeth: Just as an aside, you distinguish between academic and non-academic units. Academic units are things like math, foreign language, history, lit. Non-academic units are things like Bible, philosophy/worldview, PE, choir, art. At least that's how it was at the school I worked at. Some may go further, having specific requirements in specific categories. I point this out to suggest that people doing Omnibus and lots of worldview as their academics should be careful how they word it on a transcript to make sure it gets counted the way you intend. If your Omnibus (or whatever you're doing) is history, call it history, not something vague the evaluator doesn't recognize and axes. Now who knows, you may apply to a school where they recognize your specific curriculum or want novel titles. But I'm just saying, in general, make what you did look like something they'll recognize. See the full post here:http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?p=928388&highlight=bible+transcript+red#post928388 Applying this wisdom to the transcript, I would categorize theology/philosophy/worldview books under the appropriate transcript categories such as history, literature, or English--whenever justifiable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfamily Posted June 26, 2009 Author Share Posted June 26, 2009 Thank you Janice! This was important to remember and I had forgotten it. Thanks!:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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