An Analytic Critique of the Theoretical Framework of Teaching Philosophy to Children based on the Transcendent Philosophy

The traditional perception of philosophy, which has Greek and Hellenistic roots and considers theoretical knowledge prior to practical knowledge, is self-contradictory regarding teaching philosophy to children. Therefore, it is not useful and perhaps leads to more confusion. The recent philosophy of linguistic analysis, which criticizes the whole body of traditional philosophy and considers practice prior to theory mainly emphasizes training, rather than teaching, in children’s education or, basically, in any method of living and language game rather than teaching. Moreover, it views philosophy as a kind of activity rather than a collection of theoretical and abstract teachings. This new approach can be useful in teaching philosophy to children and young adults and is also more compatible with the religious-Islamic philosophical tradition which is manifested in Mulla Sadra’s Transcendent Philosophy. In this paper, in addition to exploring the philosophy of linguistic analysis and its impacts on the philosophy of modern education and training, it has been tried to introduce Mulla Sadra’s transcendent wisdom of throne versus the Greek and Hellenistic paradigm as a strong and systematic alternative and a way of meaningful life within the boundaries of the religious-philosophical paradigm. This paper mainly addresses those teachers of Islamic wisdom and philosophy who are involved in the training and education of children and young adults.