Question Do philosophers raise their children differently? Is talking back to a teacher always a good thing so long as the child has good arguments?

Accepted:
October 11, 2015

Comments

Second question first: Of

Second question first: Of course not! If 'talking back' means picking arguments with a teacher, that's not very productive -- or very philosophically minded. That said, I think many philosophers would agree that too much of formal education emphasizes the memorization or assimilation of 'established' knowledge as the expense of the sort of curiosity and questioning found in philosophy. There's a worldwide movement to promote philosophy education for children. Here are some good resources on that front:
http://depts.washington.edu/nwcenter/
http://p4c.com/

As to your first question: I don't have any empirical data to support this -- to my knowledge, how philosophers raise their children has never been studied. All the same , I would not at all be surprised to learn that many of the traits that one needs to be successful in philosophy -- a sense of puzzlement, attention to reasoning, comfort with uncertainty, respect for those with whom one disagrees -- are passed on by philosophers to their children. I can say in my own case that my family's dinner table conversation is very much enlivened by philosophical inquiry in which my children are active participants.

Question Do philosophers raise their children differently? Is talking back to a teacher always a good thing so long as the child has good arguments? Accepted:October 11, 2015

Question Do philosophers raise their children differently? Is talking back to a teacher always a good thing so long as the child has good arguments?

Accepted:
October 11, 2015