Ma daj, ne filozofiraj!

Filozofija za mlade

DAVID WHITE
Vrednosti

1.     Da li si postena I pravedna osoba?

2.     Kako znas ko su ti prijatelji?

3.     Da li treba da budes nagradjen/a za uspeh u skoli?

4.     Da li treba da dozvolis da ti male stvari smetaju?  

5.     Da li je tvoja odgvornost da das prilog u dobrovoljne svrhe?

6.     Da li ce te zezanje naciniti sretnijim od ucenja?

7.     Da li bi ikada trebao da lazes?

8.     Da li bi nekad trebao/la da budes nasilan/a?

9.     Da li se nekada osecas cudno kad si u prisustvu drugih?

Znanje

1.     Kako si suguran da se stvari pomeraju?

2.     Kako znas sta je istina?

3.     Mozes lid a sumnjas da postojis?

4.     Da li drvo napravi buku ako padne u sumi u kojoj nema nikog?

5.     Da li si siguran/a da je zakon gravitacije zaista zakon?

6.     Kako znas da nesto znas?

7.     Moze li druga osoba da oseti tvoj aosecanja?

8.     Mozes li da lazes sam/a sebe?

9.     Da li vidis stvari onakvim kakve jesu ili onako koko ti se cine?

10.   Da li kompijuteri mogu dam isle?

Realnost

1.     Mozes li da nemislis niocemu?

2.     Da li se ista ikada desi slucajno?

3.     Sta se desava sa brojevima kad ih ne koristimo?

4.     Da li su ljudi I brojevi podjednako stvarni?

5.     Da li je vreme ono sto vidis kad pogledas na sat/

6.     Ako je svemir nastao iz Big Benga, iz cega je nasta Big Beng?

7.     Da li si ista osoba kao I ona od pre 5 godina?

8.     Da li imas slobodnu volju?

9.     Da l iista zavisi od svega?

10.   Da li su nemoguce stvari ikad moguce?

Kriticko razmisljanje

1.     Da li neophodno da pricas I pises da bi te razumeli?

2.     Da li bi trebalo da uvek slusa misljenja drugih?

3.     Da li bi trebalo da kritikujes druge ili njihova misljenja?

4.     Zasto je “zato” tako vazna rec?

5.     Da li je uvek jednostavno da znas sta utice da se stvari dese?

6.     Ako puno ljudi misli da je nesto tacno/istinito, da li je onda to tacno/istinito?

7.     Da li dve pogresne stvari ponistavaju jedna drugu I prave ispravnu stvar?

8.     “Ja lazem”. Tacno ili netacno?

9.     Da li nesto logicno ikada moze da bude nelogicno?

10.   Pitam se sta znaci definisati nesto?

 

Pitanja, Pitanja, Pitanja  - Questions, Questions, Questions

1.     Sta je vera? What is a belief?

2.     Da li ima razlike izmedju prave I lazne vere? Is there a difference between a true belief and a false one?

3.     Da li neko moze da gresi iako nelaze? Da li nesto moze da bude pogresno iako nije laz? Can something be false without being a lie?

4.     Mozes lid a iskreno lazes? Can you honestly lie?

5.     Da li mozes da slazes a da to nisi hteo? Can you lie without meaning to do so?

6.     Da li postoji razlika izmedju lazi I izmisljotine? Is there a difference between a lie and a fib?

7.     Sta je polulaz? What is a half-truth?

8.     Da li postoji cela istina? Is there such a thing as “the whole truth”?

9.     Sta je umetnost? Primer. What is art? Example.

(Kako se stvara umetnost ? Zasto I ko je izmislio umetnost? Da li je sve umetnost? Da li su misljenja, sem umetnikovo, bitna? Zato koristimo rec “umetnost”?)

(How is art created? How did art come to be? Is everything art? Do opinions about art besides the artis’s opinion matter? Why do we use the word ”art”?)

10.   Sta je estetika? Kome je bitno da je nesto estecki lepo? Da li mozemo da se slozimo sta je lepo/ruzno? Primer.

11.   Sta je muzika? (Primer: John Cage) What is music?

(Da li postoji kvalitet koji muzika mora da poseduje da bi se znala muzikom? Da li bilo koji zvuk moze da se zove muzikom? Da li sva muzika izrazava osecanja? Da li su osecanaj koja muzika izrazava u samoj muzici, u kompozitoru ili u nasa koji slusamo? Sta cini muziku prijatnom za slusanje? Zasto slusamo tuznu muziku? )

(What is music? Is there some qualitu that anything considered music must have? Can any sound count as music? Does all music expresses emotion? Is the emotion that music expresses in the music itself? In the composer? In us, the listeners? What makes music pleasurable to listen to? Why do we listen to sad music?)

12.   Boje. Odakle nam boje? Color? How did color come to be?

(Do you think that there was a time when there was no color in the world? How did color come to be? If something is red, can it also be blue? Can it be pink? Maroon? Is the color green made up of blue and yellow? If so, is green only blue and yellow? Or is it something else in itself?

Does color make you feel a certain way? How? Why do you think color can do that? Are things different colors in different light? At night? Think about what colors the following things are during the day and at night: Grass, a tulip, the rug in your room, your hair, the blanket on your bed, a tree, snow. Does the color of things change? Or is it the way we see that changes? Is color in the things that we see? Or is it in us? Do we all see the same colors the same way? For example, does the color red look the same to everyone? How would we know? Is color real? What would make you think color is real, or not? Would the world be different if it were made up of different colors? Draw a world with colors unlike the ones in our world.)

13.   Death.

 If we did not die, if our existence did not unravel in the endless darkness of death, would life be quite so precious, so extraordinary, so moving?-Andre Comte-Sponville

What are some most fundamental questions of human life? One is -Why do we have to die?

The Fall of Freddie the Leaf by Leo Buscaglia

Was fall frightening for the leaves? Why?

Daniel tells the leaves that in fall the leaves change their home, and he says that some people call this “to die.” What does this mean?

Freddie tells Daniel he is afraid to die. Why is he afraid?

Daniel says that death is a natural change just like spring becoming summer, or summer becoming fall. Do you think this is true? What is a "natural change?"

How do you think Freddie felt when he was all alone, the last leaf left on his branch? Do you think he was ready to die? Is there such a thing as being "ready to die?" What does that mean?

Freddie saw how strong and firm his tree was as he fell from it. He felt proud that he had been a part of its life. Why do you think he felt that way? Is death a part of life? How would life be different without death?

The author ends the book by calling it “the beginning” instead of “the end.” Why does he do that? What is the difference between a beginning and an end? Are they always different? Can beginnings be endings, and endings beginnings?

 

14.   Thoughts and feelings. (Lipman's Harry Stottlemeir's Discovery)

What are thoughts? What are feelings? Why do we think? Can we control our thoughts? How is it possible to imagine ideas that are copies of things in the world? Is it possible ever not to be thinking? Do you have to have language to think? if you have to have language to think, how did language come to be? Do thoughts exist in the world? “Thoughts aren't real because they are just in our minds, and they only become real when we act on them by doing or creating something in the world. "Thoughts are in our brains, which are physical, and so in that sense thoughts must be part of the world." Are feelings the same as thoughts? There is a distinction between thoughts and feelings. "Feelings are in your body, while thoughts are only in your brain. You don't experience sensations when you're thinking the way you do when you feel something." What about when you dream? Do you think when you dream? Do you feel? You certainly feel things when you dream, but thinking was more problematic. Does thinking have to be conscious? Can you think without knowing you are thinking? Can we ever know whether we're in a dream or not. ("Our whole lives could be a dream!" one student exclaimed.) Can we what other people really think or experience ("What I see as red could be what someone else always sees as what I see when I see blue," he said.)

 

15.   Ethics.

The first dilemma concerns lying:

A girl is taken to a carnival by her dad. It is her tenth birthday and he’s promised her that she can choose any 5 rides. But as they approach the gate, he discovers that he’s forgotten his wallet. This is the last day of the carnival and it’s too far to go home and come back before it closes. He counts the change in his pockets and tells his daughter that he has enough money to pay the entrance fee and they can go inside and look at all the exhibits and the parade, but there wouldn’t be any money for rides, OR she could lie about her age and say she’s nine and get in for half-price, which would leave enough money for the 5 rides. They walk to the gate and the ticket seller asks the girl, “How old are you?” What should she say?What would you do in this situation? Why?

 

The second puzzle involves the nature of friendship. The students noted that this scenario comes up all the time in their lives:

You are spending the afternoon with a friend of yours who isn’t very popular. You run into a group of your friends who invite you to go to a movie but they say that your unpopular friend can’t come. What is the right thing to do?

 

The third puzzle involves animal rights, and evoked very strong views:

You have a little sister who is very sick. The only way to save her is to inject many kittens with the illness she has and experiment with various medicines to see if they will work. What should the doctors do? Do animals have a right to life? Are we justified in using them in experiments? In eating them?

 

The final scenario raises questions about obedience and authority:

You are in an art class at school. The teacher tells the class that today each student is to paint a painting of their best friend in the class. The class is uncomfortable with this, and one student points out to the teacher that some kids will have lots of kids painting them, and other kids won’t be chosen at all. The teacher insists that this is what the students should do. Almost all of the students don’t want to do this. What should you do? Is it disrespectful to disagree with your teacher? With your parents? Your friends? Can you disagree and still be respectful?

Moral Sense Test      http://moral.wjh.harvard.edu/index2.html

16.   What’s the perfect relationship/marriage?

17.   Perfect society?

Ursula LeGuin short story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

The story is set in a joyful and seemingly perfect city, where there is no hunger, poverty, violence, or boredom. The citizens are content, engaged in creative ways in their community, and there is great peace and happiness. Except that in the city, in a locked basement room the size of a broom closet, there is a child. Some of them want to help the child, but they understand that to do so would instantly destroy the beauty and peace and joy of their city. Those are the terms. They are absolute. Is Omelas a utopia? Why or why not? What makes something a perfect society? Invariably at some point in the discussion one or two students raise the question, don’t we base our happiness on the misery of others now? Isn’t our society like Omelas?

                                        

18. What Does It All Mean? Thomas Nagel's short 1987 book

19.   Holocoust, Rwanda, ex-YU? What is a community? What shapes its identity? Is it morally permissible to resist authority in certain situations? Is it ever morally obligatory to resist? Is indifference morally wrong? What keeps people silent in the face of moral wrongs? How does knowledge of past wrongs affect our moral responsibilities? Do we have a moral obligation to help others? What is courage? What is forgiveness? Who has the power to forgive oppressors? Is forgiveness possible?

20.  3 questions? When is the best time to do things? Who is the most important one? What is the right thing to do? Is there a right way to act in all or most situations, and can we come to know what it is?

“There once was a boy named Nikolai who sometimes felt uncertain about the right way to act. ‘I want to be a good person,’ he told his friends. ‘But I don’t always know the best way to do that.’”From The Three Questionsby Jon J. Muth . He comes to understand his questions and their answers only in the context of his experiences.

what do you think of Nikolai’s questions? Do you think they are the most important questions in life, and does and/or should our understanding of these questions change over time and with experience? Are the most important questions in life the same for everyone?

The Three Questions raises the issue of whether we can develop an understanding of the meaning of our lives in the abstract -- that is, by thinking about the implications and significance of human existence -- or does answering the kinds of questions Nikolai asks require relationships with others, experience and maturity? And can relationships and experiences come about through thinking and reading?

21.   What is mind?

What's the difference between the mind and the brain? Why do we have a mind? Why do we use our minds for certain purposes? What do minds look like? How do we know we have minds? What is the imagination?

(It’s the same thing as when you talk about the brain. The mind/brain is what stores all your thoughts. It controls everything you do."Your brain thinks about doing something, like eating a cookie, and you know you shouldn't, and it's your mind that stops you from doing it."Like a conscience? Yes, I think the mind is the part of the brain that helps you remember the right thing to do." I think the mind is separate. I think the mind runs all through your body, while your brain is in your head. Is the mind physical, then, something like your blood? It's more like your soul. Do you think it’s possible ever to think of something completely new? What I want to know is why do I have a mind. What does it do? And why do we imagine and dream? What’s the point?

 

22.  Philosophy as a way of life?

Pierre Hadot, the French philosopher, talks about philosophy as a way of seeing, and being in, the world. So philosophy as a way of life would be a life devoted to questioning, self-examination and the search for understanding. But are all people who seek understanding of the right way to live through questioning and self-examination, and who think about the fundamental questions of human existence in dialogue with others, philosophers?

23.  Why are we here?

24.  Why am I me?

25.  Why do we have philosophy?

26.  How do we know life isn't just a dream?

27.  What are emotions?

28.  How do we know we have minds?

29.  Why do we ask questions?

30.  What is the imagination? Is the imagination memory?

31.   What started everything? What is the beginning?

32.  What is time?

33.  How do we know other people see what we see and hear what we hear?

34.  What does it mean to be brave? Can you be brave and afraid at the same time?

35.   Love/hate

36.   Violence or Compassion? Which has a greater impact on society? Slam

37.  Fear or hope? Which is the more powerful emotion/motivation? Slam

38.  Truth or beauty? What is more important in your life, truth or beauty?"Slam

39.  War or Peace? Is world peace possible, or does human nature make war inevitable?Slam

40.  What is the meaning of life? Slam

41.   Greed or Giving: Which has a greater impact on society?

 

 

John Cleese

42.  Just what is it that philosophers do?

Most asked question is not what is the meaning of life but what philosophers do. They provoke thinking that might make life richer.

43.  Should all our decisions be based on the scientific facts?

Studying everything before doing anything. Which breed would be right for you? If love, feeling and heart can advise us, we might not need to make science of everything.

44.  Should we live in the moment?

You are fully alive only if you live in present. But isn’t a great deal of our present taken up by planning for successful tomorrow or with the tends to repair from yesterday. how can we balance the full live now  with the need to repair what happened yesterday and to prepare for a happy tomorrow.

45.  Information age.

We live in the age of information, we then also move in formation, we are headed in the same direction. But what if the formation is off course. Then those that seem out of line to us might actually be heading the right direction. That is both liberating and worrisome thought.

46.  Just where is it exactly? The meaning of life.

Yes there is the life. Yes there is the meaning.

47.  What do we owe to the future generation?

Would you take a billion dollars under the condition that earth will be unhabitable the day after your death? You care for friends, family. How about 1000 years later. Should we not care about our children’s grandchildren? 

48.  Somewhere else.

Romantic and special is always somewhere else. Special/desirable because we do not have it? If we saw our possessions as others see it, we would not take them for granted and realize that matters little where we live, because each place is beautiful in itself

49.  Why such interest in lives of others? Is there something missing in ours?

Why is info about the lives of others so interesting. Life seams to be better elsewhere, but where would that be and how might we get there.

50.  Who did philosophy inspire?

Philosophy has been the sparkplug for the lives of heroes. Inspired Martin L. King, James Adam for poor, Simon de Bouvoar for women. It is a starting point for making society more just.

51.   Is global uniformity good?

Benefits (water/medical)=lives better/cost(love of money and consumerism)=wipes cultures. Does our commercial world leaves enough room for variety? When it too different the conflict and misunderstandings are inevitable, but when our lives are too similar then there is no zest in life. The challenge is to foster variety without too much conflict and similarity that permit the differences to flourish.

52.  Things that matter?

Things that really matter begin in mystery and end in politics. Is it true? If mystery lies behind politics, then it’s the philosophers that seek that mystery.

53.  What is philosophy good for?

It is fun, like skiing, singing, brings excitement and satisfaction. 

54.  Is longer life of value whatever its quality?

Socrates said that philosophy is the study that helps us learn hoe to die, that also can teach us how to live.

55.  What is courage?

Aristotle: Courage is not fearlessness, but knowing what to fear. Although knowing what to fear is important, it is not enough, sometimes we have to risk all or lose everything.

56.  Would it be bad to have our dreams fulfilled?

Why is that the worst thing that might happen? Do we need dreams to sustain us? If our dream are bad then it would be better if they do not come true. Is reality always disappointing? So even when we get exactly what we want we are still dissatisfied.

57.  Values change with successive generations; can youth be right?

Values change. Older people say young have forgotten values, but maybe they just have different values.

58.  Decision, how do/should we make them?

Decisions can be hard or easy, important or not. Should we always make them calmly? Is there no place for impulse or tradition? How should one decide what to do? Should we be satisfied with decisions that bring us results that we want?

59.  Philosophy seams harmless, but in dictatorships philosophers have been the first to be silenced. Why? Maybe because ideas really matter, they can transform human lives.

60.  21 century?

Could philosophy be as important as religion and psychology? It’s born out of wonder of the world and works against confusion. Now there is much to wonder about and a lot of confusion. That is why philosophy might become important in 21century.

61.   Are our neighbors any good? Should we ignore them, or help them?

Should we thing they don’t care if they mind their own business. That might free us to live the lives we want to live. What do they do when there is trouble, and what do we do? Do we help? What constitutes a caring community?

62.  To die for. Does it make sense to fear death?

Why are we so afraid to die? Is it what is on the other side that scares us? Does the thought of our nonexistence? Or is it the thought that we might no longer be able to do what we love.

63.  Reachable stars.

Ought we seek ambitious goals or be content with what we can more easily do? Is it more important in life to get what we want, or to like what we get? Many people get what they worked hard and then they were disappointed. May it be better to relax and accept whatever comes our way? Best of all, we can learn to like what we cannot avoid and strive only for what we can attain. But how can we know what we can attain without trying?

64.  Question: "Are animals things?"

Everything is something. All things are different. There are living and non-living things - animals are living. Living things include plants and animals. Animals are different from plants because they can move themselves and therefore must have brains. Humans are different from other animals because they can write/read/talk - so their brains must be bigger. Question: "Therefore, should we eat animals?"

65.  How do you know Father Christmas is real if you don't see him?Christ?

 Nauci kako da filozofiras sam ili sa drugima:

A)Suvoparnu teoriju: 
WIKI http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy

B)Zabavnu literaturu i debate:

1.       Philosophy Toolbox

http://philosophy-toolbox.org/

Excelent Electronic Agora.

2.       VisioNaivity

http://home12.inet.tele.dk/fil/

Great if not the best site on the web on learning how to teach philosophy to young people.

3.       Philosophy for Children

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/omc/kidsphil/

Philosophical Questions from children’s stories.

4.       Philosophy for kids

http://www.philosophyforkids.com/

Learn how to philosophize with your kids!

5.       No Dogs or Philosophers allowed

http://www.nodogs.org/

Fun websajt za pocetnike!

6.       P4C

http://www.p4c.org.nz/

Trening I lekcije za P4C.

7.       Society for Phylosophical Inquiry

http://www.philosopher.org/en/SPI.html

SPI is a grassroots nonprofit organization devoted to supporting philosophical inquirers of all ages and walks of life as they become more empathetic and autonomous thinkers who take active part in creating a more deliberative democracy.

8.       Wondering Aloud: Philosophy with Young People

http://philosophyforchildren.blogspot.com/2009/01/yellow-and-pink.html

Blog sa practicnim savetima I idejama za filozofiranje sa mladima.

9.       Kids Philosophy Slam

 http://www.philosophyslam.org/

The Mission of the Kids Philosophy Slam is to give kids a voice and to inspire kids to think by unlocking their intellectual and creative potential through a unique and powerful philosophical forum. Also, philosopher of the week!

10.   Ethics Matters

http://ethics.sandiego.edu/video/Catalogue/all.asp

Ozbiljni sajt, za velike filozofe sa odlicnim video lekcijama profesora.

   

 Stize jos!  More to Come!

 
Ili ako bas hoces, filzofe, cik odgovori na ova pitanja!

Znamo da na neka pitanja nepostoje pravi, jedini i konacni odgovori, zato filozofija i nije egzaktna nauka, ali bas me interesuje koliko se odgovori filozofa razlikuju!