Heather in OK Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 I asked my oldest two, 10th and 8th, to write down things they are interested in learning/doing for electives. My 8th grader is already working on high school level work for the majority of her subjects so even though she's almost 14, she's ahead a bit. One of the things on her list is philosophy. I have absolutely no idea where to start with this. Is there anything out there that would be an appropriate intro for her? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Togo Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Adventures in Philosophy (?) Smarr Publishers also has a philosophy course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 You could start Philosophy for Kids by David White right now. It's not expensive and is discussion based. I have no idea why it's not more talked about on this board. Next year you could use an IB Theory of Knowledge text. Oxford and Cambridge both have excellent ones but we choose the Cambridge text because all the teacher resources are free online where you gave to buy a TE with the Oxford book. You could pair that with Great Minds of the Western Intellectual Tradition from TTC (maybe from the library). The book gives the tools for thinking and the lectures give a great overview of key figures and ideas. You could also pair the lectures with the PfK book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indian summer Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 DK has a philosophy book called The Philosophy Book. It's very introductory, not a lot of meat, but might be a place to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myra Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 We used the novel called Sophie's World. It's a fun way to explore philosophy. After each chapter, I had my boys make an one page "informational" sheet (on microsoft word) about the topic including quotes, summary of philosophy, any cartoons or clip art about the topic they could find online, etc. At the end of the book, we printed off the sheets and bound them as a book. I found the cds of the book online really fun to listened to while we read along with the book highlighting the pertinent facts. Myra Edited to add: I resold the book on cd here on the classifies on the same day that I listed it for sale. So you could probably recoop the cost of them, too. The books we kept as we highlighted and wrote in the margins. I viewed this as a precursor for learning about taking notes in college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 My sr loves philosophy. TC has some great lecture series. We really like Kreeft's Socrates Meets......series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 A nice reference source is The Story of Philosophy by Bryan Magee. It's a chronological look at philosophers. We also used the Cambridge Theory of Knowledge book as the base for "Introduction to Philosophy". It basically looks at epistemology, yet it's a good intro. The Great Courses lectures on Aristotle's Ethics are also good. I also picked up a textbook at a book sale. I've only looked through it, but if you wanted a more thorough overview of philosophy, it seems like a decent text. A Philosopher's Way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saddlemomma Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 If you are a Christian, you could look at Philosophy Adventures. I just got it for my rising 6th grade DD. It's geared toward 6th-12 graders and concentrates on "teaching them how to write skillfully, think critically, and speak articulately as they explore the history of ideas." I purchased the physical student text with the TM, worksheets, and notebook pages on a CD for $69. This program addresses 8 pre-socratic philosophers, detailing their lives, geography of where they lived, their teachings and thoughts. In addition, each chapter also has a "Direct From the Source" section where you read from primary, or secondary source material (if no primary source info remains). The "Contrast" section at the end of each chapter is where the view of that particular philosopher is compared & contrasted with the Biblical worldview. If you would prefer a secular program, you could easily skip this section. The rest of the chapter has some references to Bible verses, but not overtly so. If you feel this would bother you, then this curriculum may not be for you. Their website has a sample chapter for people to view: http://www.homeschooladventure.com/products/philosophy-adventure-pre-socratics/ They also provide a short introductory video on their homepage. The author is also working on subsequent books to cover all major philosophers up to the 20th century. This is the first book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 There are a number of older threads on this same topic that have been tagged. I recommend searching under the tag 'Philosophy'. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in OK Posted March 4, 2014 Author Share Posted March 4, 2014 Thank you so much! This gives us a good place to start. I did do a search in this forum for "philosophy". It didn't bring up what I was looking for. *shrug* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacharsis Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 It seems like one of the things to watch out for is going too deep too soon. Philosophers are a wordy bunch, and for some people, early enthusiasm starts to fizzle after plodding through several hours of Plato's more tedious call-and-response dialogues, or getting halfway through something by Kant only to realize that there's still another 400 pages to go; start brief. :) If the enthusiasm is kindled into a larger fire, then it can start to support those larger works. Fortunately, philosophy was a popular topic for essayists, and a few early writers were very good at brevity. The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius are brief and give a good outline of his thought. Some of Cicero's essays like, "On Friendship" might be worth a look. Maybe a few essays from Plutarch's massive "Moralia" collection... Augustine of Hippo's "On Free Choice of the Will" might be interesting if she is curious about Christian philosophy. Many of Michel de Montaigne's essays are of a philosophical nature, as are Francis Bacon's. Rene Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy is fairly brief, as these things go. If you want conversation-starters, the Maxims of La Rochefoucauld are pretty good -- many of them have the character of witty comebacks, which can give them extra entertainment value. John Locke's "A Letter Concerning Toleration" might be worthwhile, if that is a subject that interests her. Maybe something short by David Hume, like one of his Four Dissertations? Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote a few discourses on philosophical subjects that might be worth checking out, like his "Discourse on the Origin of Inequality". Ralph Waldo Emerson's essays are popular, and a good introduction to the American side of philosophy, in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetC Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 Open Culture's Philosophy resources: http://www.openculture.com/philosophy_free_courses I would also try Coursera.org and EdX.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 Philosophy for Kids and its sequel (by White) might be a good place to start. It's very open ended, so you can take it to whatever level the child is ready for. L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlemommy Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 The Potter's School has a course called Western Philosophy Literature for high schoolers if you are interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mckive6 Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 We are also working on an elective in Philosophy, and using "Philosophy for Kids", and TGC. You've already received some good ideas. Here is a link to some interesting resources that may help also. We're in the process of using some of them. http://squirefoundation.org/curricula/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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