Philosophy Books for Kids
Here are my top 5 books for teaching ethics and philosophy to children and also helping you to fill in the gaps and get hooked!
The If Machine, 2nd edition: 30 Lesson Plans for Teaching Philosophy
The If Machine, presents 30 clear, ready-to-use plans to teach philosophy in the classroom with children aged five to 13. Each tried-and-tested session offers an imaginary situation, followed by a series of questions to encourage children to challenge key philosophical ideas such as values and ethics, gender and identity, and existence and beauty. With a star system indicating the level of difficulty, this practical book by Peter Worley, founder of The Philosophy Foundation, outlines Peter’s philosophical enquiry method, which he has developed over 20 years of teaching.
This fantastic resource also includes a new hints and tips section, as well as a troubleshooting table with guidance and links to further resources about how to deal with common problems such as unanimity. Accompanied by a companion website featuring an introduction to the philosophy that inspired the ideas, The If Machine is a must-have resource for all classrooms.
50 Philosophy Ideas You Really Need to Know
Have you ever lain awake at night fretting over how we can be sure of the reality of the external world? Perhaps we are in fact disembodied brains, floating in vats at the whim of some deranged puppet-master?
If so, you are not alone – and what’s more, you are in exalted company. For this question and others like it have been the stuff of philosophical rumination for centuries, from Plato to Popper.
In a series of accessible and engaging essays, 50 PHILOSOPHY IDEAS YOU REALLY NEED TO KNOW introduces and explains the problems of knowledge, consciousness, identity, ethics, belief, justice and aesthetics that have troubled the minds of great thinkers for centuries, from the ancient Greeks to the present day.
Contents include: The brain in a vat, Plato’s cave, Cogito ergo sum, The mind-body problem, The boo/hurrah theory, Ends and means, The categorical imperative, Acts and omissions, The rights of animals, The gambler’s fallacy, Paradigm shifts, Occam’s razor, Positive and negative freedom, Theories of punishment and Just war.
Edited by philosophy in schools expertPeter Worley, with contributions from philosophers from around the world, The Philosophy Shop is a veritable emporium of philosophical puzzles and challenges to develop thinking in and out of the classroom.
Imagine a one-stop shop stacked to the rafters with everything you could ever want, to enable you to tap into young people’s natural curiosity and get them thinking deeply. Well, this is it! The Philosophy Shop is jam-packed with ideas to get anyone thinking philosophically from children and young people to adults. For use in the classroom, at after school clubs, in philosophy departments and philosophy groups or even for the lone reader, this book will appeal to anyone who likes to think. Take it on journeys and dip in; use it as a classroom starter activity, or for a full philosophical enquiry – it could even be used to steer pub, dinner party or family discussions away from the same old topics.
Suitable for adults and children.
Winner of the Education Resources Awards 2013, Educational Book Award category
The Big Think Book: Discover Philosophy Through 99 Perplexing Problems
What makes me, me – and you, you?
What is this thing called ‘love’?
Does life have a point?
Is ‘no’ the right answer to this question?
Philosophy transports us from the wonderful to the weird, from the funny to the very serious indeed. With the aid of tall stories, jokes, fascinating insights and common sense, Peter Cave offers a comprehensive survey of all areas of philosophy, addressing the big puzzles in ethics and politics, metaphysics and knowledge, religion and the emotions, aesthetics and logic. Replete with a smorgasbord of amusing and mind-boggling examples, The Big Think Book is perfect for anyone who delights in life’s conundrums.
Ethical Intelligence: Five Principles for Untangling Your Toughest Problems at Work and Beyond
Emotionally intelligent people are aware of how they and others feel. Ethically intelligent people know how to use this awareness the right way. Being ethically intelligent doesn’t just mean knowing what is right; it also means having the courage to do what is right. Ethical intelligence may be the most practical form of intelligence there is — and the most valuable.
In these pages, ethicist Bruce Weinstein boldly declares that your ethical intelligence determines how successful you are in your job, how strong your relationships with friends and family are, and even how you feel about yourself. Ethical Intelligence is the first book that shows how to increase your ethics IQ in every area of your life. Through numerous real-life examples, Dr. Weinstein applies the principles of ethical intelligence to some of the toughest problems we face and reveals the essential elements of a life well lived.