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The If Machine: Philosophical Enquiry in the Classroom

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"The best book of its kind currently available, an invaluable resource for teachers wanting to try out some philosophy in their classrooms and a significant contribution to educational theory. Buy it!"

Dr Michael Hand, Reader of Philosophy, Institute of Education London

"One of the most striking things about this book is its intellectual rigour, its grounding in the work of real philosophers and its implicit belief that children will respond to big and important ideas if they are simply given the opportunity and their discussion is appropriately focused."

TES Magazine (rated 9/10) Read the full review here: Big Questions for Little People

‘The If Machine’ is a rich resource of ‘guided philosophy sessions’ containing many stories, both original and classic, aimed at developing higher order thinking through the activity of philosophy. Many of the stories are based on classic philosophical thought experiments but have been re-written in order to make them accessible to children in primary and early secondary school. The stories have a series of accompanying questions that have been tried and tested in the classroom with a wide variety of age groups. There is also instruction and guidance on how to approach doing philosophy in the classroom based on years of experience of running and devising philosophy sessions. The overall aim of the book is to provide teachers with a thorough list of strategies for encouraging higher order thinking in their students that can be used in any education setting, and to realise the philosophical potential of primary school age children introducing them to the practice of real philosophy and the kind of thinking that philosophy engenders.

"This is a timely and valuable contribution: a capacity to think critically is the key component of any education, and Worley is an inventive enhancer of children's ability to think for themselves."

A. C. Grayling Prof of Philosophy at Birkbeck, University of London

“Peter Worley has produced a lucid and well-thought through resource that should have children entertained and educated at the same time.”

Dr Stephen Law Senior Lecturer in philosophy at Heythrop College,and Editor of ‘Think’, the Royal Institute of Philosophy Journal

Download free sample chapters

Order The If Machine here for a discounted rate of £14.99 (RRP £17.99)