Volume 28, Issue 3, September 2005
Renée Smith, Dennis Earl
Pages 249-259
Getting Started
A First-Day Activity in Philosophical Thinking
Given the inexperience, misconceptions and misgivings students often bring to a first course in philosophy, we present an activity that acquaints students with the main areas of philosophical inquiry and the tools philosophers use. Students engage in philosophical thinking by reflecting on and answering questions, defending and discussing their answers, and modifying or rejecting views in light of this discussion. The activity introduces students to conceptual analysis, argument, thought-experiment, and the use of counterexamples
while simultaneously emphasizing and illuminating students’ natural tendency to think philosophically.