Four Week P4HE Course (Block 3)

This is a philosophy class for children running in 4 week blocks.

Week 1

Free: To Do What I Want, Any Old Time?

In this session we'll explore the concept of freedom. Are you free if nobody is in your way? Or only if you are actually able to do something? Are you more free if you are locked in a room, or if the door is open but you are too scared to leave? Are you free to lick your elbow? 

Week 2 If You Hold a Guinea Pig up by Its Tail, Its Eyes Will Pop Out Find out what the laws of logic have to say about this surprising claim, and  We’ll look at the ifs and buts of consequences and counter-factuals, and find out how much philosophical depth there is to that two letter word, “if”.

Week 3 Nowism Fewer people nowadays would think it OK to consider somebody more or less important because of their gender or ethnicity. But what about people who just happen not to be around now, but who we know will exist in the future? Do they have rights? Are we being “nowist" to pay so little attention to their needs? Should time travellers have the vote?

Week 4 Trigger’s Broom and Teleportation “This old broom has had seventeen new heads and fourteen new handles.” What makes something the same thing through time? We’ll explore the problem of identity through examples from Theseus’s famous ship to the sci-fi wonders of teleportation.