Friday, June 4, 2010

“Forget Toys: French Kids Try Philosophy” plus 2 more

“Forget Toys: French Kids Try Philosophy” plus 2 more

Forget Toys: French Kids Try Philosophy

Posted: 03 Jun 2010 08:16 AM PDT

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While young Americans spend time playing video games or ball in their backyards, French kids who invite friends over for afternoon snacks are leaving such playthings behind for a much deeper activity: to debate the meaning of life, death and love.

Les goûters philos, philosophical afternoon snacks or teas, are a growing trend in France where families have become convinced that children should tackle metaphysical issues at an early age when children start asking existential questions.

The idea of the goûters philos is to have the children discuss and hammer out such issues for an hour, over cakes and fruit juice.

"I do not control the content of the discussion, I'm present to guide the children in their thoughts," Sophie Geoffrion, a philosophy teacher and founder of Philoland, an association offering different kinds of activities around philosophy, said.

"They are free to contradict themselves, to confront with each other, all of this in a nice way," she said. "The goûter allows children to expand their ability to think for themselves and to expand their critical thinking.

"Children are asking themselves questions and are asking their parents questions as well," said Geoffrion, who regularly intervenes in schools, public libraries and at privates homes. "Parents are often lacking an answer."

But parents wrongly think that philosophy can provide an answer, she said. "The philosophy does not find a solution to a question asked by a child," Geoffrion said. "But it will raise questions around a discussion.

"Kids love it. They have karate or dance classes and philo, it's really an activity like any other one."

Oscar Vennin, 12, gathers with his philosopher friends once a month at Le Petit Monceau café in Paris for a café philo. Recent topics included death, truth, lies, fighting. "In these gatherings, we can compare our points of view on a topic" Oscar said. "There is a real discussion among us and it's very interesting."

Dubbed the "mini-Kants" (for 18th century influential German philosopher Immanuel Kant) by the French Philosophie magazine, the group counts about 10 children ages 8 to 13 and plans its future sessions by communicating via the social networking website Facebook.

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The Philosophy of Love

Posted: 03 Jun 2010 01:29 PM PDT

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African philosophy could relieve stress at work

Posted: 03 Jun 2010 05:51 AM PDT

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KUSA - It may not surprise you to learn that most Americans are either overworked or flat-out miserable at work; and that's if they even have a job. But a new book has some advice that just might ease some of the pain of your working day.

Best-selling Author and Motivational Expert Dr. Bob Nelson has written a book, tapping into an African philosophy called Ubuntu. Ubuntu is a classical African concept focusing on people's allegiances and relations with each other; it's been used successfully by some high-profile people, including Nelson Mandela and Richard Branson.

According to Nelson, 85 percent of current employees say they are overworked and under-appreciated. As a result, recent studies show that 54 percent of current employees plan to find a new job as the economy improves.

That's creating a poor work ethic, leading to a serious drop or productivity at work, costing U.S. businesses more than $4.4 billion per day.

In his book, "Ubuntu! An Inspiring Story About an African Tradition of Teamwork and Collaboration," Nelson, with co-author Stephen Lundin, explains how business leaders, managers and owners can ignite passion in the workplace, improve morale and excitement and in the end create a more mutually satisfying -- and productive -- work environment.

Thursday morning, Nelson spoke with 9NEWS, saying the book is a "call to reconnect people in the workplace and rekindle a spirit of working together and the advantages that come from it."

Ubuntu! An Inspiring Story About an African Tradition of Teamwork and Collaboration, (Broadway Books) by Dr. Bob Nelson, and Stephen Lundin is available now. For more information, please visit: www.UbuntuTheBook.com.

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