a matter of perspective
reflections on perspective-taking in the community of philosophical inquiry
DOI :
https://doi.org/10.12957/childphilo.2025.88388Mots-clés :
philosophy for/with children, perspective-taking, decentric thinking, empathyRésumé
Perspective-taking, the mental act of simulating an ‘other’s’ situation, is widely recognised as being fundamental to the proper functioning of critical thinking and belief-formation and in promoting empathy, social and cultural competence, and prosocial outcomes. Increasingly featured in learning continua in and across disciplines, and whose elicitation and development features strongly in Philosophy for/with Children (P4wC) and other Community of Philosophical Inquiry (CoPI) styled programs, it is commonly treated as a unitary concept. As an initial teacher educator on dialogic pedagogies, and experienced facilitator trainer in P4wC, here I argue against a unidimensional conception of perspective-taking in favour of a multidimensional one. Six perspective-taking types are proposed, defined by their frames of reference, or ‘deictic fields,’ what I call Somatic, Agentive, Sociative, Temporal, Spatial, and Alethic. Using a conceptual analysis approach and leaning on the cognate fields of psychology and moral philosophy, I argue that different perspective-taking types implicate different categories of decentric thinking requiring the application of different kinds of cognitive proficiencies and dexterities. I argue, further, that different perspective-taking types, and combination of types, bring with them different sorts of affordances for the thinking subject, as well as precipitating some familiar, and some not so familiar, challenges and deterrents. A better understanding of perspective-taking types, I conclude, could be used to assist P4wC/CoPI practitioners in better cultivating this competency and ought to inform empirical assessments into the impact that such programs might have on children’s decentric thinking.
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