''Harry Stottlemeier's Discovery'' is a philosophical novel for children written by
Matthew Lipman. The novel was Lipman's first, and inaugurated the educational movement known as
Philosophy for Children. It was first published in 1971 and revised in 1974.
The book deals with everyday situations which a group of children encounter. These situations then become the substance for mental engagement and thinking about thinking. Rather than looking for answers, the type of thinking encouraged is about prolonging questioning, and performing self-initiated testing on the events or objects under discussion. There is a focus on how to teach ourselves logic by examining the results of the self-initiated tests. It opens with Harry, the school boy who leads the story, falling asleep in a
science class, although "he didn't really fall asleep ... His mind just wandered off". The narrative deals with substantial
democratic issues such as "should every child
go to school
Go, GO, G.O., or Go! may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Games and sport
* Go (game), a board game for two players
* ''Travel Go'' (formerly ''Go – The International Travel Game''), a game based on world travel
* Go, the starting position lo ...
?", and "should every person salute the flag?" In the early 1970s it entered
Montclair Public Schools
The Montclair Public Schools are a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in kindergarten through twelfth grade from the Township of Montclair, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The district consists of ...
in New Jersey. Lipman subsequently published an instruction manual to accompany it.
[Lipman, Matthew. ''Philosophical Inquiry'' (Instructional Manual to Accompany Harry Stottlemeier's Discovery), with Ann Margaret Sharp (NJ: IAPC, 1975). Second Edition: Philosophical Inquiry, with Ann Margaret Sharp and Frederick S. Oscanyan (NJ: IAPC, 1979), co-published with University Press, 1984.]
See also
*
Philosophy for Children
*''
Sophie's World
''Sophie's World'' (Norwegian: ''Sofies verden'') is a 1991 novel by Norwegian writer Jostein Gaarder. It follows Sophie Amundsen, a Norwegian teenager, who is introduced to the history of philosophy as she is asked "Who are you?" in a letter ...
''
References
External links
Harry Stottlemeier's Discovery (Revised Edition) ''
ERIC'',
Institute of Education SciencesPhilosophy for Children entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy">Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy">Philosophy for Children entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
1971 American novels
1971 children's books
American philosophical novels
Philosophy education
American children's novels
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