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The Lucky Necklace

Philosophy This session can either lead to the session here on causation and the post-hoc fallacy (this is a fallacy where someone has a mistaken view of what makes something happen), or you could follow the first stimulus with the Truth and Falsity session, depending on what the class say. Stimulus 1 "I can make clocks move round ...

Ages: Ages 14-16 (KS4), Ages 11-14 (KS3), Ages 7-11 (KS2)

Subjects: Metaphysics

Themes: Post-hoc fallacy, Causation

The Missing Etude

Stimulus Get hold of some sheet music (e.g. an Etude by Fernando Sor or a famous song) Show the class the sheet music. [Optional] Play or sing them the piece of music [if you can play an instrument or sing]. [Optional] Play them the song from an MP3 player. [Optional] If the class know the song, have them sing it. Task Question W...

Ages: Ages 16-18 (KS5), Ages 14-16 (KS4), Ages 11-14 (KS3), Ages 7-11 (KS2)

Subjects: Metaphysics

The Philosophical Adventures of Pencil Person

These sessions may well blend into each other as there is a good deal of overlap with the ideas. For instance, if the discussion in Meet Pencil Person turns towards the distinction between types and individual things then run Pencil Person Meets Pencil Person to help focus this. Introducing Pencil Person Props: four (or eight) pencils, a b...

Ages: All | All

Subjects: Metaphysics

Themes: Parts and wholes, Mereology, Identity

The Ship of Theseus

From The If Machine by Peter Worley When doing The Ship of Theseus chapter from The If Machine make the puzzle visual by assembling a model of the ship on the floor with some identical pencils and a piece of paper for the sail. As you explain the process of gradual change replace each pencil with another pencil creating a pile of the discarde...

Ages: Ages 7-11 (KS2)

Subjects: Metaphysics

Themes: Vagueness, Sorites paradox, Personal identity, Change

The Time Machine

Resource: DVD of The Time Machine (1960) starring Rod Taylor directed by George Pal (PG rating) The Time Machine was written by HG Wells during the victorian era Scenes to show to the class 6 minutes 40 seconds – 13 minutes: Explanation scene (the fourth dimension) Scene 7-8 up to 29 minutes and 30 seconds (when he arri...

Ages: Ages 7-11 (KS2)

Subjects: Metaphysics

Themes: Victorians, Space & Time

The Two Square

Preparation Before you read the lesson plan do some thinking of your own. Have you ever tried to answer this question before: 'What is a number?' To help you with this, imagine you are speaking to an alien who is exactly like a human in terms of language and understanding but he/she/it lacks a concept of 'number' so the alien ...

Ages: Ages 14-16 (KS4), Ages 11-14 (KS3), Ages 7-11 (KS2)

Subjects: Metaphysics

Themes: Numbers, Knowledge

The Unhappy Prince

Story Many years ago, in Northern Italy, lived a king. He lived in a palace with his son, the Prince. Every week the king and his son would walk out of the castle, down the hill, through the trees to a lake. They would swim for hours and then, when they had swum enough; they would walk back to the castle with water dripping off the end of the...

Ages: Ages 7-11 (KS2), Ages 5-7 (KS1)

Subjects: Metaphysics

Themes: Happiness, At what point

The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Ice cream exploration

Eric starts his life as an egg, that hatches into a caterpillar. He’s hungry and eats a lot! Then he’s much bigger. He makes himself a cocoon and then out comes a big beautiful butterfly. Task Questions: Is the egg Eric? Is the little caterpillar Eric? Is the big caterpillar Eric? Is the cocoon Eric? Is the butte...

Ages: Ages 3-5 (EYFS), Ages 5-7 (KS1)

Subjects: Metaphysics

Themes: Change, Identity, Sense

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Session

Props needed: A bag Pieces with which a model of a caterpillar can be made Read the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle in a fun and engaging way (e.g. leave out some words and refrains for them to say). Make a model of a caterpillar on the floor for them all to see and ask them to take you through the transformati...

Ages: Ages 5-7 (KS1), Ages 3-5 (EYFS)

Subjects: Metaphysics

Themes: Identity, Change, Categories, At what point

The Zombie Timer

PHILOSOPHY A central question in philosophy of mind concerns what consciousness is. A wellknown though experiment asks if one could imagine a philosophical zombie that was just like a person, but without self-awareness. This experiment opens up a lot of philosophical questions about metaphysics (Would it make that someone could act as a norma...

Ages: Ages 16-18 (KS5), Ages 14-16 (KS4)

Subjects: Metaphysics, Ethics, Epistemology