Thinking Deeply About History [P4C - Philosophy & Ethics Lesson]

This ‘Fun Philosophy Lesson’ is focused on philosophical and ethical issues that relate to history, the challenges faced by historians, and the study of history. This resource is designed for students aged 8-16.

This interactive multi-use learning session is of particular interest to History Teachers; it focuses on a wide range of topics such as:

• The value of studying history
• The forces that shape the unfolding of history
• Objectivity and bias in the study of history
• The ethical responsibilities of historians
• Different ways of approaching history
• Moral relativism in studying history
   
  We’ve aimed to cover as many issues as possible when it comes to finding engaging philosophical and ethical issues for young learners to debate and discuss in relation to history!

The big question asked in this session is “To what extent can we ever truly know what life was like for people in the past?”. Using a variety of engaging activities students will discuss and debate a wide range of other philosophical and ethical questions such as:

• What would happen if studying history was banned and all history books were destroyed?

• Why do you think history is taught in schools?

• Can one person really change the course of history?

• Does history show humanity making ‘progress’, what do we mean by the term ‘progress’ and is it a valid concept?

• What are the potential consequences of misrepresenting the past?

• Are some actions objectively evil: regardless of the time, place, culture and situation in which they occurred?
   
  Students will also analyse and evaluate an eclectic mix of philosophical and ethical claims such as:

• “The interpretation of history can never be truly objective”

• “Nothing shapes history more than technological advances”

• “If I had a time-machine I would prefer to go forwards than backwards in time”

• “The fall of empires is primarily due to moral decay.”

• “Since the victors write the history, we cannot trust most historical accounts”

This session uses our unique format for philosophy teaching resources and features an integrated menu that allows teachers to select from a variety of starter, main, plenary, assessment and end-of-lesson reflection activities. With a massive selection of activities designed to trigger philosophical discussions, debates and reflections: you can re-use the resource numerous times with the same group. For teachers wishing to run ‘P4C’ (Philosophy for Children) sessions these resources are ideal!

The file is a non-editable PowerPoint Show: no planning or preparation is required, just run the file and the intuitive menu system will make delivering a powerful philosophy session very easy!