Children as Philosophers

It may be argued that children are much better suited to doing philosophy than adults. Everyday concepts, ideas, practices, and knowledge, taken for granted by adults, are often questioned by children. In many ways, asking questions about such everyday issues is akin to what philosophers have done since antiquity. Philosophers of childhood and education have emphasized this ability in children as a kind of fitness for philosophy, and have suggested that, when it concerns philosophical knowledge, children have an advantage. There are at least three reasons for this that concern children’s unique relationship to language, time, and conceptions of subjectivity. This entry examines these three factors and further explores why some skepticism prevails about children’s ability to be philosophers.