Harry Stottlemeier's Discovery

Philosophy for Children

by Matthew Lipman

One day Harry finds himself giving the wrong answer in science class and begins to wonder where he has gone wrong. This reflection soon involves his classmates, who begin to think together about the nature of thinking, inquiry and knowledge. With the help of their teacher, Harry and his classmates discover rules of formal and informal logic, relational logic and hypothetical thinking—-not as ends in themselves, but as tools in helping them understand themselves and their world. Some of the ideas they begin to explore this way include education, mind, rights, religion, art, cause and effect, causes and reasons, and fallibilism. Set within a group of middle school classmates and their families, this novel offers several models of reasonable dialogue, among young people and adults. HARRY STOTTLEMEIR’S DISCOVERY was the first novel published in Philosophy for Children, and its connection with the tradition of Western philosophy is often strong. Adults with a background in philosophy will easily recognize the perennial philosophical issues raised in the story. However, no such background is necessary for young people or adults to enjoy this thought-provoking novel.

Grade Range: 4-7 Target Grades: 5-6

Teacher's Guide Companion Volume - PHILOSOPHICAL INQUIRY: Instructional Manual to Accompany Harry Stottlemeier's Discovery

Genres: Philosophy

Paperback

First published November 1, 1978

Reviews

[Jose Brox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy interesante para hacer pensar a los niños de manera formal, abstracta, crítica y social mientras se divierten/entretienen con una historia en la que hay niños y niñas de todos los palos (inteligentes, repelentes, simplones, emocionales, tiernos...). En el último capítulo se produce un giro de 180 grados en el comportamiento de uno de los protagonistas que no me ha gustado, aunque se hace de manera consciente y explícita: a fin de cuentas, este libro tiene como objetivo proponer situaciones complejas y dilemas a ser discutidos en clase tras su lectura, y éste es un caso de estudio más.

Me he quedado con ganas de leer la continuación, titulada "Lisa".

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book to my seven year old daughter for bedtime. The story is packed with potential philosophical discussions and my daughter would naturally make comments or add her own thoughts to what the characters were exploring. In the part where the characters were wondering if thoughts were more real than things, Harry mentions how “when things aren't around, we can't be sure they're still there, but our thoughts we always carry with us. I can close my eyes and make the world disappear, but I can't make my thoughts disappear." My daughter immediately replies “But just because you can’t see something or can’t interact with it doesn’t mean it isn’t real. Someone else may be seeing and interacting with that thing. Look mom, I’m closing my eyes and I can’t be sure the world exists as it’s gone from my sight but you can see it and your experience should be considered.” I thought that was a surprisingly eloquent thought. To sum up, the story is written in an entertaining way to engage my young daughter with plenty of philosophy to get her thinking.

[Leonardo]

Se trata de una parte de un trabajo mayor que busca presentar la filosofía y el razonamiento lógico para niños a partir de los 10 años, especialmente para EEUU.

Citado y comentado en Sin fines de lucro pág.107-110

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me hubiera encantado leerlo de chiquito, pero aun así me pareciío genial como material educativo para ejemplificar ciertos conceptos

[A.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as a kid and loved it - as I recall it's essentially a guide to philosophy and logic wrapped in a children's story. This is stuff that gets taught in college classes, explained so it makes sense to a 10 year old.

Wish I could get my hands on a copy again but it seems to be very out of print.