Category Archives: Philosophy

Flow Charts in Philosophy

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One of the most useful things I’ve tried in my philosophy class is the humble flow chart.  Philosophy ideas and writings lend themselves to this graphic model.  So far, I have used a flow chart to explain how St. Augustine gets from the question: “If God is all Good and all powerful, why does evil exist” to “Free will allows us to choose to turn away from God which leads to evil or the corruption of Good.”  Bertrand Russell’s idea about the four hour work day also lent itself to the use of a flow chart.

Last week I decided to put the power of the flow chart in the hands of the students.  We read a selection from Rene Descartes, First Meditation.  We read the first section together.  I constructed a flow chart of Descartes idea on the board with student input.

The students were then told that the second reading section would complete the flow chart.  I then had students create groups of 3-4.  Groups read the second section together and then were tasked to fill in the rest of the chart.  I walked around and checked in with students as they worked.  Students struggled with the reading, but they discussed and tested their ideas with their groups.  The final flow charts represented collaborative learning, and critical thinking.

After completing the flow charts, students posted the work, review them, and voted on the charts they felt was the most complete.

Fun with Flow Charts!

What’s your “Big Question”?

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One of my main goals for the new Introduction to Philosophy class is to encourage students to explore big questions and concepts that they find interesting or relevant to life today.  I want students to move beyond passively learning about philosophers, ideas, and theories throughout our history of thought to actively evaluating and connecting these concepts to their own experiences and world views.  To this end, I have assigned my students a “Big Question” project.  Here is a link to the details of the first stage process.  The project is inquiry based and will be developed throughout the first semester.

Currently, students have chosen and refined a “Big Question” of interest.  They are researching what other philosophers and schools of thought have said about this concept.  As the semester progresses, students will continue to make connections between what we are learning in class with the question, find articles and media that develop it, and finally come to their own understanding.

I am impressed by the questions with which my students have decided to grapple.  Here are some examples.  Is an utopian society possible?  What is the nature of love? Why are human beings so often dissatisfied?  What is beauty?  I meet with students individually to discuss the question.  I also communicate with each student through Schoology as they research and struggle through difficult reading.  So far these discussions have shown students working with these ideas, clarifying what and why she is interested in the topic, and how she is seeing these ideas’ relevance today.

This exercise does highlight the need for a different way of organizing instructional time during the day.  These topics require sustained focus, questioning, and thought.  Our current school day and year don’t allow students this kind of time to deep dive.  With the time we have, students are beginning to scratch the surface of sustained philosophical inquiry.