Philosophy’s position in the NZ Secondary School System

Richard.Tweedie@hagley.school.nz

NZ Association For Philosophy Teachers

SocCon 2013

Thanks to The Woods Bequest

The Trifecta1st Philosophy of Education

2nd Philosophy as a non-isolatable domain underlying all Learning Areas

3rd Philosophy as a Social Science/Humanities discipline

Pedagogy Philosophy

Revised NZ Curriculum (2007)

Ideological Visions

Confident, connected, actively involved and lifelong learners

Go forth to new heights in achievement and labour

Philosophy Pedagogy

PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

1st

PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

EPISTEMOLOGY

Knowledge and its transmission

The problem of conceptual change

ETHIC

Status of the neonate Rights and responsibilities

Individual and societal needs

Philosophy as a trans-disciplinary non-isolable domain

Stephen E. Toulmin (1972) Human Understanding

2nd: Refined NZ Curriculum

Philosophy helps to imbue the public mind with a certain number of philosophical and moral notions to be regarded as a minimum equipment, and which are calculated to reinforce respect for human personality. UNESCO (1946)

UNESCO, Philosophy a School of Freedom, Paris, UNESCO Publishing 2007.

UNESCO, Teaching Philosophy in Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, UNESCO Publishing 2009

Intra-disciplinary Nature of Philosophy

• integrates and transcends other disciplines - enhances cognitive efficiency

• Interdependent structuring of discussion for young people whose existential relationships to the self and to others are in constant flux – cultivates reasonableness

• establishes a space within a school context where ‘broadening the horizons of reason’ to the limits of thought and understanding can be a regular part of the curriculum; extreme indoor education – enables rational autonomy

• allows a non-sectarian inquiry and exploration of ethics without social control or indoctrination. Students examine a number of perspectives and develop skills to navigate moral life – develops values

Scientific speculation is a philosophical activity and as such precedes theory and practice. Similarly for all other disciplines.

Student Essay Example: Quantum Physics

How to think about Quantum Wave-Function Collapse

Quantum Physics remains an area of intense speculation for physicists, because of the uncertainty of how a quantum element in a superposition (in two states at once) will ‘collapse’ into being in only one state when measured. This has resulted in some strange postulations of how the universe works when the quantum interact with the macroscopic world. In this essay, I will evaluate three of the main hypotheses that attempt to explain the collapse of the superposition using the ‘SEARCH’ formula. The ‘SEARCH’ formula is a method used to evaluate evidence supporting multiple hypotheses and determine which is the most probable. The SEARCH formula consists of four main steps:

NB: also illustrates how the Humanities can be essential for STEM

A rigorous humanities subject

"We're hiring a living breathing person, not a qualification. Someone who is thinking about who and what they are, why they are justifying taking up space on earth - we're hiring people's values and attitudes. If I found a [job] applicant with philosophy skills I would grab them.”

Kim Campbell, Chief Executive EMA - Employers and Manufacturers Association

(October, 2012)

Learning Objectives – Curriculum GuideStrand Level 6 Level 7 Level 8

Inquiry 1.1 Identify and describe philosophical ideas

2.1 Describe and explain philosophical ideas

3.1 Analyse and compare philosophical ideas

Reasoning 1.2 Identify and describe reasoned arguments

2.1 Develop reasoned arguments

3.1 Analyse and evaluate reasoned arguments

Philosophical perspectives

1.3 Identify and describe ideas in philosophical perspectives

2.3 Develop and explain ideas in philosophical perspectives

3.3 Analyse and evaluate ideas in philosophical perspectives

Applied philosophy

1.4 Identify and describe how philosophical inquiry can be applied to a range of issues

2.4 Describe and explain how philosophical inquiry can be applied to a range of issues

3.4 Analyse and evaluate how philosophical inquiry can be applied to a range of issues

3rd

Why study philosophy?

• Seek wisdom and insight• Make ethical decisions• Think critically• Argue logically• Build personal confidence

Predicting Patterns in Nature

?

Each group carries out an experiment on Mother Nature by trying to predict the next card in the sequence. As Mother Nature knows and operates the same pattern, she will give feedback on the success or failure of each experiment. Each group continues predicting until an experiment fails, and then the next group takes over.

At any time a group can put forward an hypothesis to describe the pattern of nature. If incorrect, that team is out of the game; if correct, the Nobel prize.

Testing HypothesesHypothesis 1• Alternate colours (red, black, red, black)Hypothesis 2• Number cards alternating with face cardsHypothesis 3• Alternate suits (diamond, club, diamond, club)Hypothesis 4 –Mother Nature’s Choice• Alternate lower and higher cards (low, high,

low, high)

Conformation Bias, FalsificationBen Goldacre. Battling Bad Science, TED Talks

Thank You