What is the P4C approach to the teaching of thinking?

P4C is short for Philosophy for Children, or in a broader context, Philosophy for Communities.

Key principles of P4C

• the key practice that starts and drives the whole thinking process is enquiry (interpreted as going beyond information to seek understanding)
• the key practice that results in significant changes of thought and action is reflection

These aims and processes can be made more explicit if the teacher asks appropriate questions. These can range from a general invitation (such as: Can anyone respond to that?) to more specific calls that require a considered response. There are ten key elements the teacher can introduce to elicit a considered response.

1. Questions (What don’t we understand here? What questions do we have about this?)
2. Hypotheses (Does anyone have any alternative suggestions or explanations?)
3. Reasons (What reasons are there for doing that? What evidence is there for believing this?)
4. Examples (Can anyone think of an example of this? Can someone think of a counter-example?)
5. Distinctions (Can we make a distinction here? Can anyone give a definition?)
6. Connections (Is anyone able to build on that idea? or Can someone link that with another idea?)
7. Implications (What assumptions lie behind this? What consequences does it lead to?)
8. Intentions (Is that what was really meant? Is that what we’re really saying?)
9. Criteria (What makes that an example of X? What are the things that really count here?)
10. Consistency (Does that conclusion follow? Are these principles/beliefs consistent?)

Thinking skills and philosophical enquiry

Thinking skills, especially those relevant to creative and critical thinking, are rapidly being seen as such a good thing, because without them there is a danger of not applying one’s critical faculties to the whole idea. It’s worth bearing in mind that thinking is not easily broken down into separate pieces – it is a dynamic activity, unique in every person. This is perhaps part of what D. H. Lawrence had in mind when he described thought as the ‘wholeness’ of a person ‘wholly attending’.

Another critical point is that skills of any sort are worthless if one has neither the inclination nor the good sense to use them. We need above all to help children develop the general disposition to think better.