PHILOSOPHY FOR CHILDREN:
A MODEL FOR A BIOETHICS
COMMUNITY OF INQUIRY
Leonardo D. de Castro, Ph.D.
Professor of Philosophy, University of the Philippines
Vice Chair, UNESCO International Bioethics Committee
Secretary, International Association of Bioethics
Bioethics:
a democratic approach to education
 Forum for community debate and
discussion
 Facilitate a social process of
‘reflective conversation’
o By which a community discovers and
continually evaluates developments
in society
Not merely informative
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o Checks how developments fit with
society’s core values
Reflective Conversation
 Why self-discovery and
self-evaluation are
extremely important:
 Contemporary questions
about biotechnology are
actually questions about
o who we are
o what we want to make
of ourselves
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THIS PRESENTATION:
“Community of inquiry” as a
model for bioethics learning.
1. Central features of philosophy
for children
2. A short narrative on
Xenotransplantation
3. Lessons that bioethics
education can learn from
philosophy for children
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I. Philosophy for Children
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Challenge:
Do these observations apply to
bioethics?
not only for children
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but also for adults?
Natural curiosity develops inquiry
A philosophical community of inquiry exploits
children’s natural curiosity to raise questions
and issues.
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Differences among the participants
enrich the process of learning
 Learning is different for each individual child.
 “The ideal philosophical community is one in which . . .
differences . . . serve to enrich the inquiry [rather than
to divide the participants].” (Lone, 2001)
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The teacher does not direct students
 Each child contributes something essential to the
classroom.
 All children have unique ideas and interests that
motivate them to seek answers to their questions.
 The role of the teacher is to guide students in this
process, not to direct them.
 She does not seek to control the conclusion.
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The capacity to change one's mind
Criticizing one's own views and changing one's
mind is a natural part of the process of
philosophical thinking.
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Education enables children to think for
themselves
 "Anything that helps us to discover meaning in life is
educational, and the schools are educational only
insofar as they do facilitate such discovery" (Lipman, Sharp
and Oscanyan,1980)
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Community of Inquiry
 Thinking for oneself is a central aim of philosophy for
children.
 Children should recreate the society in which they live
as they grow up in a critical, careful and creative way.
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Community of Inquiry -- Features:
 An agenda determined by students
 Free exchange of ideas
 Atmosphere of openness
 Participants’ ownership of discussion
 Relevance to life
 Question finding
 Teacher as participant and learner.
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(G. Smith 1999)
A genuine community of inquiry is
based on:
 Mutual respect
 The members’ volunteer commitment to search for
something in common.
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Guiding Principle:
The process, rather than the product
In the community of inquiry
o emphasis the discussion process
o not a particular conclusion
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Learning as Discovery and Invention
To learn something is to learn it again with the same
discovery spirit that was experienced when it was
discovered,
or with the same spirit of invention that prevailed when
it was invented.
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II. XENOTRANSPLANTATION:
The story of Jerry and Bibi
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A xenotransplantation narrative
 Jerry and Bibi were in the waiting room at the clinic of
one of the best transplant doctors in the country.
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A xenotransplantation narrative
Jerry was a
sickly 12-year-old boy
Bibi was
Jerry’s pet pig
Jerry’s kidneys were failing. He needed a
transplant.
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A xenotransplantation narrative
 Inside the clinic, Doctor Snow
examined Jerry.
 He explained that there was a long
list of people who needed organs
 It would take a lot of time before
Jerry could have a transplanted
kidney.
Dr. Snow with
Bibi
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A xenotransplantation narrative
 Bibi: “How could that happen?
Are there not enough good people?
Why can’t a person give a kidney to
someone who is dying?”
 Dr. Snow : “It’s not as simple as that.
One has to take risks in giving a kidney.
One has to go through an operation.”
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A xenotransplantation narrative
Bibi: “I’m not afraid! I’ll give Jerry one of my
kidneys.”
Dr. Snow: “Are you kidding?”
Bibi: “I’m serious! I’ll do anything for my dear
friend.”
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A xenotransplantation narrative
Jerry: “But that’s not fair. Why do animals
always have to suffer for human beings? Are
you not going to die if you do that?”
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A xenotransplantation narrative
 Bibi: “Isn’t that what
animals are supposed to
do?
Isn’t it our responsibility
to support the needs of
human beings?”
 Jerry: “But you are my
friend! You’re my best
friend!
We are equally valuable!
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You should not think of
yourself merely as a tool
to make me live long or
live happily.”
A xenotransplantation narrative
 Dr. Snow was concerned about other things: “Let’s not
decide so quickly. I am not sure that Jerry can use one
of your kidneys, Bibi. People and pigs do not
necessarily match.”
 Bibi: “What do you mean?”
 Dr. Snow: “Pig kidneys are different from human
kidneys. Pig kidneys will not work inside human
bodies. Pigs and humans are made differently.”
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A xenotransplantation narrative
 Bibi inquired: “Is it
because we have
different genes? I read
somewhere that
differences in the genes
inside our bodies make
pigs different from other
animals.”
 Dr. Snow: “That’s right.”
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 Bibi was insistent: “Can’t
you do something about
my genes in order to
make my kidney work
inside Jerry’s body?
 Dr. Snow: “Well, some
clinics have been
studying how to do that
but they have not been
successful.”
A xenotransplantation narrative
 Bibi thought aloud:
“That’s too bad.
Scientists must work
harder.”
 Dr. Snow explained: “On
the other hand, some
people think scientists
should not move too
fast.”
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 Bibi: “Do they think my
kidney is the wrong one
for Jerry? Are they afraid
Jerry is going to turn into
a pig?
 Dr. Snow: “No, but some
think we should not mix
our genes because genes
are part of God’s design
for His creation. We
have to respect what
God wants.”
A xenotransplantation narrative
 Bibi: “I can’t understand that. If we want to avoid
people dying of kidney diseases, scientists must move
even faster. Surely, God wants to save lives. Lives are
more important than genes, are they not? There must
be a way to help my best friend.”
 Dr. Snow: “I can assure you that we are doing what we
can to help Jerry but don’t you agree that we have to
consider also what other people think?”
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A xenotransplantation narrative
 Bibi: “That may be so. But it just
does not seem fair that my best
friend is dying and I cannot do
what I think is right in order to
keep him alive. There must be
something wrong when that’s
happening. Don’t you think so?”
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A xenotransplantation narrative
 Bibi was full of questions in his
head: “It also does not seem
fair that we are the best of
friends but I cannot give Jerry
the only gift that can save his
life. I wonder what other
people think. What do you
think, Dr. Snow?”
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A xenotransplantation narrative
What do you
think?
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III. Bioethics for Children
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Curiosity and bioethical inquiry
 Natural curiosity develops bioethical inquiry.
 Education has to explore that natural curiosity in order
to raise questions and issues that are important to the
individual and to the whole community.
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Respecting difference
 Bioethics learning is different for each individual.
 It differs on account of one’s cultural and religious
background, one’s upbringing, and a lot of other things.
 Difference is not something to be despised. On the
contrary, difference enriches the totality of our
humanity.
 Difference ought to be encouraged.
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Learning through the lenses of one’s
own experiences
 People – whether children or adults – realize what
things are important through their own experiences.
 This is how things come to have meaning for them.
 Lessons must be drawn from each person’s own
experiences.
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Thinking for oneself
 Thinking for oneself is a central aim of bioethics
education.
 Technology is going to advance even faster than it has
done in the last few years.
 Similarly the world is going to change faster.
 The best way to get people ready for these changes is
to make sure that they learn to think for themselves.
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