A Study of the Similarities and Differences between Hegel's Educational Philosophy and the Program of Philosophy for Children (P4C)

Hegel’s philosophy is considered to be one of the most influential philosophical schools of the modern period. In order to understand the reason behind this view, it is useful to cast a glance at some other recent philosophical trends such as phenomenology, existentialism, Marxism, and pragmatism (Dewey and Pierce) in order to observe the traces of Hegel’s affirmative approach therein. Not only is his philosophy extremely noteworthy as a systematic school of thought, but his educational philosophy is of great importance, which has unfortunately remained unknown to many of us. Hegel himself was a teacher at gymnasium (high school) and paid great attention to education and training. He also believed that students must be mentally involved in the process of philosophical thinking, and instructional materials must be in harmony with the daily life of children and adolescents. Hegel’s dialectics is also considered to be a very good tool for spreading “critical thinking” among students. On the other hand, the fascinating program of Matthew Lipman, the founder of the Program of Philosophy for Children in America, has been in use for several decades. Before his death, through introducing a new program for teaching philosophy to children, he managed to create a new trend in education and training which has turned into one of the modern methods for teaching critical and creative thinking in today’s world. Employing Hegel’s philosophy, particularly in the fields of philosophical education and training could be of great help to the Program of Philosophy for Children. The present paper explores the similarities and differences between Hegel’s philosophy and this program. Hegel’s dialectics is not merely a method; rather, it is the same as philosophy and can be used in the community of enquiry as introduced in the P4C Program. However, Hegel’s intended educational system is by no means child-centered, and he emphasizes that teachers play an extremely central role in the process of learning. In fact, the educational system intended by Hegel is “school-centered”, and school is an absolute manifestation of Hegelian philosophy in the field of education and training.