Wondering why you should teach kids philosophy? We’ve got you covered!

If you’re around kids, you know they can come up with some wild questions. What would happen if a T-rex fought a robot? Why don’t vegetables have eyes? Can I wear my Halloween costume to Grandma’s birthday party? But many of the questions children bombard us with are inherently philosophical. What happened to my hamster when he died? Why is it bad to tell a lie? If I had different parents, would I still be me? It was a commonly held belief for a long time that children weren’t capable of philosophical thought until age 11. Piaget’s stages of development told us that it simply wasn’t developmentally possible for young children to engage in philosophizing, so we didn’t bother trying to teach kids philosophy.

But times have changed. While there is much support for many of Piaget’s theories, theory of mind research suggests that children are in fact capable of philosophical thought beginning at age four or five. And if you’ve spent enough time with a kindergartener to experience a line of questioning that ends in “But who made the first hippopotamus if it had no mom and dad?,” then you’re likely to agree with that assessment.

Teaching kids philosophy may seem like a foreign concept, but a child questioning how the first hippo appeared is a child who is asking for a philosophical answer.  Given that young children are already asking these questions and thinking these thoughts, why would we not seize the opportunity to begin teaching them ways to go about answering the questions they have? Philosophy isn’t just about having the deep Socratic discussions that take place in the depths of academia. The word philosophy literally means “a love of wisdom,” meaning that anyone who wishes to understand themselves, their relationships, or the world around them more deeply is seeking out philosophy—even if that person is very young.

We learn to read, write, and do arithmetic in school as young children. We learn about social studies, physical education, and art. But there’s no class on how to be a good person. The answer to that question will vary widely depending on who you ask, but the beauty of teaching kids philosophy is that there doesn’t need to be one answer. The point is to get children thinking about what it means to be a good person and to guide them as they investigate and examine their own ideas. And it doesn’t matter what a child’s background is or whether that child is being raised in a religious household or not; the study of philosophy can help all children as they explore ideas of right and wrong, good and bad—and it helps them understand the importance of thinking about such things.

We’ve all heard children (and adults) make confident claims that they simply can’t back up. Luckily, Socrates came up with a way to help us handle these situations. Socrates taught that we can’t always count on those with authority to deliver accurate information, and that lesson is just as important today as it was in 400 B.C. Socratic questioning is one of the foundations of Western philosophy. When we raise children who learn to question what they’re told, not only will they be better at spotting inconsistencies, half-truths, and outright lies, but they’ll be better researchers, deeper learners, and more invested students.

It’s easy to let days slip away without meaningful conversations with the children in our lives. Did you finish your homework? Please take out the trash. It’s dinnertime! While the events surrounding these sorts of communications are important parts of our routine, they don’t exactly set the stage for deep talks. But when we teach kids philosophy, it naturally opens up discussions about big questions that little ones are already likely to bring up with the adults in their lives. Having these conversations with parents or teachers not only gives children a better understanding of how we think, but it helps us understand how capable and thoughtful they are as well. So why not have your spaghetti with a side of Socrates?

With thousands of years of wisdom to sort through, it can be daunting to figure out where to begin your child’s philosophy journey. We recommend a brilliant series of books by Western philosophy professor Dr. Sharon Kaye. These books all come with instructor manuals or guidebooks, so they can be used as read-alouds or as a curriculum—or perhaps something in between. The early levels are fully illustrated stories that weave in real themes of Western philosophy that you can discuss as you read with your child. The books grow in complexity and depth as they move up in level, extending all the way through the end of high school. If you want to teach kids philosophy, teach teens philosophy, or even enjoy learning some more philosophy yourself, these books will make the process seamless and enjoyable.