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Trivent Publishing
© The Authors, 2016
Available online at http://trivent-publishing.eu/
Series: Philosophy, Communication, Media Sciences
Volume: Communication Today: An Overview from Online Journalism to Applied Philosophy
Knowledge as a Social Construct
in Philosophy with Children
Florin Lobont
Department of Philosophy and Communication Sciences, West University of Timisoara, Romania.
florin.lobont@e-uvt.ro
Abstract
The paper aims to present some of the principles of Philosophy for/with children that arguably lead to
some simple, everyday practices to help children and young people become thoughtful, curious and
reasonable. We will argue that Philosophy for or with Children’s central pedagogical tool is the
community of inquiry, showing the positive role this structure plays in combating what is perceived to
be a drift in society to the idea that opinions cannot be judged and do not need to be justified. This
type of community will be presented as a context for facilitating personal relationships inspired by a
sense of participative democracy, an effective instrument that can be employed in service of an
intellectual endeavour which rests on the concept of knowledge as a continuous and fertile
intersubjective change rather than as a mere transfer of information.
Keywords
Philosophy for/with Children; community of inquiry; children’s thinking facilitation; thinking skills; co-
operative skills.