Child's reason

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Children have a natural tendency philosophize. Unfortunately, somewhere in their eighth or ninth year this is discouraged -partly due to the system of education-.

In the sixties, American philosopher Mathew Lipman concluded that his students had an underdeveloped sense of reasening and started to philosophize with children. His aim was to stimulate their creative and analytical mind.

According to Lipman -and colleague Garreth Matthews- the regular system of education didn't provide enough opportunities to learn to 'think about thinking'.

They started the 'Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children'. Lipman en Matthews developed study-material which could be used as basis for philosophical conversations with children between the age of 6 - 12 years. Since then 'philosophizing with children' became common in countries across the world.

Berrie Heesen is one of the pioneers of child-philosophy in the Netherlands. He instructs teachers in 'the art of philosophizing with children'.

For Dutch Public Broadcaster VPRO we filmed at primary school 'De Icarus' in Heemstede as well as in Rostock (former Eastern Germany) where the subject of Philosophy is obligatory in primary education.