HOM & p4c Shared themes/characteristics: Neither HOM nor p4c are programs: They are not something that you learn from a manual and follow a step by step implementation procedure. Both require a long term commitment: (WES HOM 20 years, p4c 12 years, KHS, HOM 8 years, p4c 8 years). They’re not a 2-year, once a week “fix”. Both change the people who encounter and persist with them. They become a part of who you are and what you do.

Together, when p4c is working, you’ll see HOM at work (Listening with empathy, etc) and when HOM is realizing its full potential, you’ll see p4c at work. Both involve philosophy: HOM has philosophy embedded in it, although this is rarely made explicit. This is where a difference with p4c emerges: p4c is not about HAVING or operationalizing a philosophy. p4c is primarily about DOING philosophy.

“P4C” “What IS “P4C”? An international educational initiative that is transforming, in fundamental ways, traditional approaches to teaching and learning.

“P4C” is a “place holder” ∫(x) ∫(P4C)! (P4C) = internationally different interpretations of HOW to do “P4C”

∫(p4c Hawai’i Style) (p4c Hawai`i Style) = a form of p4c practice developed in Hawai`i.

P4C / p4c Hawai’i Style P/philosophy BIG P/little p Both involve CONTENT & ACTIVITY

BIG P CONTENT INDIVIDUALS: Plato, Aristotle, Laozi… AREAS: Metaphysics, Epistemology, Ethics… BIG P ACTIVITY Primarily university faculty, professional philosophers who write and publish and present at conferences, etc.

pHILOSOPHY (little ‘p’) little p CONTENT Something we all HAVE: a set of beliefs that we use to make sense of our world little p ACTIVITY A special reflective practice of thinking about this set of beliefs we use to make sense of our world.

When/where does P/philosophy begin? W O N D E R! When/Where does WONDER Begin?

We are philosophically active from the beginning!

This is the birth of OUR little p philosophy as CONTENT & ACTIVITY We wonder. Our wonder leads to questions.

For Example: Did anything come before space? Could Santa die? If you don’t have eyes, can you still see? Why is the sky blue and white? Can you teach a roach kungfu? Are mythical creatures real? How do I know I’m here? Was ice invented first or water? Where did everything come from? What would dogs say if they could talk?

Why do people judge others? When you first meet someone, do you judge them by looks, personality, or reputation? Why? Why do kids have to judge each other by the way they look, act, etc?

Kailua High School Student Questions to His Holiness the Dalai Lama April 16, 2012 If we have all these reasons to be good people (reasons to have compassion, patience, love), then why is it so hard to be a good person? Is too much compassion dangerous because it makes us vulnerable? For example, if I give a homeless person money, but he attacked me because I refused to give him more, did my unbiased compassion make me vulnerable?

What are the reasons that we as humanity need direction to find peace when peace is within ourselves? In what ways can we educate our children’s hearts without corrupting them with our own biases and experiences? In this time of political unrest, leaders around the world promote many things. However, many haven’t taken action to fulfill their promises be taken seriously.

Our questions are an invitation to an… INQUIRY

p4c Hawai`i INQUIRY is a special form of little p philosophical activity little p philosophy is PRIMARILY an ACTIVITY of INQUIRY (NOT argument!) most fruitfully learned and carried on in a COMMUNITY

Characteristics of p4c INQUIRY: (1) topics arise out of the questions and concerns of the community and begin where the community is in its understanding, (2) co-inquiry, no one knows THE answer or where the inquiry will lead, (3) employs the Good Thinker’s Toolkit, (W R A I T E C) The importance of inquiry tools to “scratch beneath the surface…”,

(4) is self-corrective, It’s NOT about “no right or wrong answers…!” (5) reflection with agreed upon, shared criteria. It IS about reflecting on our sessions with the goal of improving! The INTENTION is PROGRESS, deeper understanding of the topic or question with which we began.

CONCLUSION p4c Hawai’i Style is not primarily about the mastery of any given CONTENT.

It IS about developing important ways of relating: In an intellectually safe COMMUNITY

little p philosophy is an ACTIVITY born of wonder, ready to engage any content or situation that presents itself.

Properly nurtured, p4c Hawai’i style becomes a way of life. Socrates called this “an examined life”, a “life worth living”