Abstract

How can we learn to philosophize? Classroom teaching in philosophy in secondary education has two aims: learning the names and positions of the great philosophers, and doing philosophy or real ‘philosophizing’. In this article doing philosophy is seen as training in specific ‘thinking skills’ that provides ‘slow thinking’ in the classroom. A Dutch model of these philosophical thinking skills is presented consisting of four categories of thinking skills which are derived from classical philosophical methods as phenomenology, hermeneutics, dialectics and analytical philosophy. Slow thinking can be reached when: a) these categories of thinking skills are trained successfully, b) the training in analytical thinking skills is followed by a fifth category of thinking skills in which a conclusion or decision must be formulated as well as the reason for the conclusion. Analysis shows that four of the five thinking skills are clearly recognizable in the dialogue Laches of Plato.