Reflect

This year, World Philosophy Day on 21st November focuses on young people in relation to its theme of ‘Philosophy for an Inclusive and Sustainable Future’. Children and young people care deeply about the existential threat bound up in the protection and stewardship of the environment, and the choices they make in the decades ahead will be vital ones. Getting them out in nature is important to not only enjoy and value it, but to philosophise about it too.

Indeed, there seems no better place to think about the environment, nature and our place in it than in the great outdoors itself. On a walk in the New Forest, my son was very interested in the idea of belonging and chatted to me about whether an acorn still belongs to an oak tree after it has fallen. He even digressed on to the familiar, ‘What came first: the chicken or the egg?’ problem on our journey through the trees. But what I recollect most is that he was fully immersed in nature and was noticing, speaking, listening and thinking about it.

According to the philosopher Nietzsche, “We do not belong to those who have ideas only among books, when stimulated by books. It is our habit to think outdoors – walking, leaping, climbing, dancing, preferably on lonely mountains or near the sea where even the trails become thoughtful". Perhaps we should make thinking outdoors more of a habit. I know that walking helps me think and seems to open my mind up, allowing thoughts to breathe so I can make better sense of them.

We recently went for a family birthday walk on the South Downs which was punctuated by a pot of noodles and a chocolate brownie; this was my husband’s request for his birthday outing and whilst it wasn’t necessarily my preference at the time, I found myself softening in temperament as we walked. I was conscious, sitting still in nature (waiting for my noodles to also soften), how contemplative thoughts were becoming more prominent. Everyone seemed very happy with the simplicity of a walk and food with family - and we started chatting about what makes a good birthday. We often find ourselves easily slipping into philosophical conversation and it can indeed be woven into everyday life without being too formal.

Motivate

SAPERE, the national charity for philosophical enquiry, sent its Co-Directors on a walk in the Peak District on 27th September, where they wandered and wondered about a myriad of questions that had been sent in from children, parents, teachers, philosophers and SAPERE colleagues. The purpose of this Wonder Wander, besides a good walk, was to raise money for free philosophy clubs in schools which encourage more philosophical thinking. This type of thinking enables young people and adults to explore complex and contested ideas by listening to multiple perspectives, reflecting on their thoughts and feelings, and expressing themselves more clearly. Philosophical enquiry enables people to make decisions, seek solutions and solve problems as a community, and this is what our children need to be able to do to have a sustainable future.

Philosophy for Children (P4C) often happens in schools but it can happen elsewhere, so I ran a Wonder Wander session at Cubs that week for my daughter’s local group. We started with the question, 'Where do you do your best thinking?’ School was only mentioned once by the Cubs as a place to do your best thinking! Alternative suggestions included: in my bedroom, in the bath, in a tree and on a walk. These Cubs were a lively bunch, yet responded to the question that my son had posed back in the New Forest, 'Who does nature belong to?’ with calmness and care. You could hear them thinking as they felt connected to, and compelled, by the question.

After this initial question, we dared to leave the Scout hut with a set of questions in hand that they could choose from to talk about with a partner, taking turns and building on each other’s ideas. And I can report that they did just that – in the darkness with head torches on! We wandered into the night and wondered. I expected the children to quite rapidly veer off track and talk about something else, but one pair talked for the whole half an hour about their first question: ‘Do you think a tree has feelings?’

A previous Wednesday Wisdom, Catching Our Breath, details research on the benefits and positive impact that nature can have on our bodies and minds. It seems, our philosophical souls benefit too.

Support

For example, in the summer we went on a family walk near sunflower fields in France and a philosophical question revealed itself. ‘Is it true that the more you see something, the less you notice and appreciate it?’ Yes, we were in France on a holiday, but this question is still relevant back home around our regular haunts, in our local area. There are things around us that we simply don’t notice anymore and there is always something to remark on which might seem small and insignificant but can lead to deeper talk. On one of these local walks, my daughter came across an empty snail shell and declared, ‘It is beautiful!’ I automatically responded with, ‘What makes it beautiful?’ and she talked about this for a good while. Further questions included, ‘Is it more beautiful than….?’ and ‘Do different people find different things beautiful?’ We definitely had plenty to think about on our walk now!

Here are some questions to get you going but if you listen carefully to your children when they chatter, they often raise a big idea, such as belonging and beauty, and before you know it you are entering philosophical terrain:

• Do you think a tree has feelings? – about feelings
• Who does nature belong to? – about nature and belonging
• Does nature mind how much we take? – about taking
• Should the first person to stand on Mars get to own it? – about ownership
• Why do we always want more? – about wanting
• Is it fair that some people have more than others? – about fairness

Walking and talking is an accessible activity, so go out with your children on a long (or short) walk and have a chat about acorns, snail shells and life. You may even find yourself talking together about ‘Can we ‘save’ the planet?’ as this is the task that our children have inherited. Indeed, these conversations may also encourage us to question our own responsibility as adults for the world we live in and forge connections with those young people who will need to sustain it. Philosophical potential is all around us; you’ve just got to go outside and find it.

If you would like to donate to SAPERE’s Wonder Wander campaign then please do so here. I've recently run some pilot Parents and P4C sessions at a primary school (find out more here). If you are interested in creating opportunities to think collaboratively and philosophically in your school, get in touch with me at emmaleeson@sapere.org.uk.