PHILOSOPHY FOR CHILDREN AS A TEACHING PROGRAM: CRITICAL NOTES

Abstract

This article aims to explain how the institutionalized practice of philosophy in elementary education emerged through the Philosophy for Children Program (PFP), created by Matthew Lipman in the 1960s. This program enabled the inclusion of a "philosophy for children" in schools in various countries around the world, including Brazil, based on a pragmatist understanding of education grounded in formal logic. It also points out how its implementation occurred in Brazil and what historical, social, and educational factors were responsible for it. Thus, a brief history of Matthew Lipman's Philosophy for Children Program is presented, followed by a list of the factors and process of its arrival in Brazil.