Growth of Thinking in Children in Evolutionary Psychology

The innovative idea emphasized in this paper suggests that, unlike the common belief, a child is not a small adult. In other words, the world of a child is different from that of an adult. From the viewpoint of evolutionary psychology, philosophy for children means becoming involved in philosophizing and contemplation and not learning a series of abstract and formal concepts. Accordingly, philosophy for children refers to a method and mechanism which persuades children to research, wonder about, and inquire about different topics. Here, we refer to it as a balance-seeking method, which is the main basis of children’s psychological development. The writer claims that it is possible to teach them the process of thinking; however, if someone learns the related process and mechanism, they will easily learn about the content of thinking, and if their thoughts are developed, they will be able to create ideas. Although teaching thinking is possible, it must match the “evolutionary age” of children. Before one can teach them substantial concepts, they should have reached the required biological potential; otherwise, their efforts will only result in a fragile type of rote learning. Therefore, “biological readiness” is the necessary condition for children to learn philosophical concepts and develop their thinking abilities.