philosophy and childhood: a possible encounter?

Abstract

In the current context of re-problematization of childhood as a concrete target of philosophical reflection in educational systems, above all, there is a unique disposition to put "childish" thinking into consideration as a target of educational organization and planning. While based on another perspective, the project Philosophy in School, developed by the University of Brasilia (PFE/UNB), is one of the many experiments in approximating childhood and philosophy. Addressing some of the questions implied in the alignment between philosophy, childhood and education, this essay analyzes the viewpoints of children on the experience of philosophical practice in the early grades of a public school in Brazil. In their comments, the children indicate that philosophy class is a moment in which people ‘learn’ or ‘think’ differently. What these students have learned by practicing philosophy can be spoken in the space that philosophy opens for the child’s own voice. When they talk about philosophical experience, these children testify to the mark in their learning process that the experience of a different way of thinking leaves. This new, more attentive and sensitive point of view invites us to an experience in which teaching, learning and philosophizing with childhood, become not only a possible exercise, but its principal reference. Key word: childhood; philosophy; think