The Philosophy for Children Program: Explanation and Investigation of Lipman’s View with a Look at Teachings of Islamic Philosophy

The philosophy for children (P4C) program can be investigated from various angles such as the level of effect of philosophy on children in life skills as well as the comparative study of philosophy for children, and children’s psychology and their social life. The present study aims at investigating the critiques on P4C program using the philosophical, educational and psychological sources with a look at teachings of Islamic philosophy. Here, after mentioning the views of the contemporary philosopher, Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, regarding the P4C program, we have attempted to deal with the philosophical and educational critiques on this program form the viewpoints presented by Islamic philosophers such as Farabi, Avicenna, Meskawayh, Ghazali, Mulla Sadra, and Allama Tabatabaie. We then attempted to reinforce the critiques on the philosophical foundations of that program in the theological, ontological, anthropological, self-knowledge, epistemological, axiological, methodological, and teleological dimensions. Existence of some inconsistencies in the Lipman’s theory has doubled those critiques. In the path to naturalize that program, we must pay attention to the content challenges facing the program.