A very clear exposition of The New Positivism, and how it relates to the importance of philosophy at the high school level.
topics and assign responsibility for developing curricula. Topics are chosen based
both on potential interest, relevance to the field of philosophy, and past success.
Examples include: philosophy of race; the ethics of consumption; what is beauty?;
existentialism; personal identity; religion; and others.
Seminar structure varies depending upon the personalities of participants at
differenthighschools.Someseminars(andtopics)requiremoreup-frontstructure
and leadership to begin a discussion. A discussion of Existentialism, for instance,
needs an initial introduction to the basic theories in order to have an engaging
and curious discussion. In some cases, discussions proceed successfully from an
initial question, such as ‘what is race?’ All discussions, however, are focused on the
virtues and pleasures of conversation and thought in learning. This is, by design,
in contrast with the more conventional educational format to which most of the
participants are accustomed.
Schools range from lower-achieving high schools in the DC public school
system to more selective DC public charter schools and all the way up to a top
ten US News and World Reports ranked high school in Northern Virginia. Despite
thedisparityinschoolresources,achievement,andpreparedness,theHighSchool
Philosophy Seminar approach remains more or less the same: introduce high
school students to a style of learning that emphasizes questioning, discussion,
logical reasoning, and free thinking. While there can never be a replacement for
rote memorization in certain subjects such as the sciences, the style of the High
School Philosophy Seminar is a valuable complement; the logical reasoning skills
it teaches are not only enjoyable but are crucial to success in high school, on the
SAT/ACT, and in college.
In its method, the High School Philosophy Seminar has achieved noticeable
results. Students who have previously shown frustration with education return
weekly to the seminar. What keeps them coming back? A simple approach to
philosophy the seminar leaders like to call ‘philosophical positivism.’
The term philosophical positivism is a playful reinvigoration of the name of
a famous twentieth century school of thought called ‘logical positivism.’ Logical
positivists,astheycametobeknown,usedthewordpositivismtorefertoatheory
according to which sense perceptions are the only justified basis for knowledge.
Philosophical positivism, on the other hand, uses positivism to mean ‘the state
of being positive.’ This sort of positivism is based upon the thought that if we
are to do philosophy then we should be positive about philosophy—all types of
philosophy. Ideas are fascinating things!
This, of course, is not to draw a distinction with logical positivism. The
name ‘philosophical positivism’ is simply a good-humoured use of a well-known
philosophicalterm.There’sabsolutelynothingkeepinglogicalpositivistsfromalso
being philosophical positivists and vice versa.
Philosophical positivists don’t discard any idea at first glance but take the
time to see what the inner workings of the thought really are. This entails dissolv-
ing any convoluted philosophical language and bearing the purest form of the
idea. Jargon shouldn’t be required to understand what is most interesting about
philosophical ideas; these ideas can be grasped by anyone.
If you do philosophy in high school, you’re given an all-access hall pass to
a world in which imagination can and should roam free. Through philosophical
positivism, the High School Philosophy Seminar tries to draw the inner spirit of
imaginativereasoningoutofstudentswhomaynototherwisehavetheopportunity
to discover these pleasures.
Forthoseofuswhofeelfrustratedbypedantryandhavestoppedwondering
about how God manages to eat the most scalding of Mexican food, forget about
labels, tradition, and complicated debate and remember how delightful it is to
really talk about ideas
topics and assign responsibility for developing curricula. Topics are chosen based
both on potential interest, relevance to the field of philosophy, and past success.
Examples include: philosophy of race; the ethics of consumption; what is beauty?;
existentialism; personal identity; religion; and others.
Seminar structure varies depending upon the personalities of participants at
differenthighschools.Someseminars(andtopics)requiremoreup-frontstructure
and leadership to begin a discussion. A discussion of Existentialism, for instance,
needs an initial introduction to the basic theories in order to have an engaging
and curious discussion. In some cases, discussions proceed successfully from an
initial question, such as ‘what is race?’ All discussions, however, are focused on the
virtues and pleasures of conversation and thought in learning. This is, by design,
in contrast with the more conventional educational format to which most of the
participants are accustomed.
Schools range from lower-achieving high schools in the DC public school
system to more selective DC public charter schools and all the way up to a top
ten US News and World Reports ranked high school in Northern Virginia. Despite
thedisparityinschoolresources,achievement,andpreparedness,theHighSchool
Philosophy Seminar approach remains more or less the same: introduce high
school students to a style of learning that emphasizes questioning, discussion,
logical reasoning, and free thinking. While there can never be a replacement for
rote memorization in certain subjects such as the sciences, the style of the High
School Philosophy Seminar is a valuable complement; the logical reasoning skills
it teaches are not only enjoyable but are crucial to success in high school, on the
SAT/ACT, and in college.
In its method, the High School Philosophy Seminar has achieved noticeable
results. Students who have previously shown frustration with education return
weekly to the seminar. What keeps them coming back? A simple approach to
philosophy the seminar leaders like to call ‘philosophical positivism.’
The term philosophical positivism is a playful reinvigoration of the name of
a famous twentieth century school of thought called ‘logical positivism.’ Logical
positivists,astheycametobeknown,usedthewordpositivismtorefertoatheory
according to which sense perceptions are the only justified basis for knowledge.
Philosophical positivism, on the other hand, uses positivism to mean ‘the state
of being positive.’ This sort of positivism is based upon the thought that if we
are to do philosophy then we should be positive about philosophy—all types of
philosophy. Ideas are fascinating things!
This, of course, is not to draw a distinction with logical positivism. The
name ‘philosophical positivism’ is simply a good-humoured use of a well-known
philosophicalterm.There’sabsolutelynothingkeepinglogicalpositivistsfromalso
being philosophical positivists and vice versa.
Philosophical positivists don’t discard any idea at first glance but take the
time to see what the inner workings of the thought really are. This entails dissolv-
ing any convoluted philosophical language and bearing the purest form of the
idea. Jargon shouldn’t be required to understand what is most interesting about
philosophical ideas; these ideas can be grasped by anyone.
If you do philosophy in high school, you’re given an all-access hall pass to
a world in which imagination can and should roam free. Through philosophical
positivism, the High School Philosophy Seminar tries to draw the inner spirit of
imaginativereasoningoutofstudentswhomaynototherwisehavetheopportunity
to discover these pleasures.
Forthoseofuswhofeelfrustratedbypedantryandhavestoppedwondering
about how God manages to eat the most scalding of Mexican food, forget about
labels, tradition, and complicated debate and remember how delightful it is to
really talk about ideas
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