Abstract

In this paper I introduce some of the main theoretical principles of an educational and philosophical project that is still very much alive and in process. The project Does Philosophy Fit in Caxias? Public School Bets on Thinking is housed in two public schools in the city of Duque de Caxias, a suburb of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that may be characterized as an urban poverty zone. The project involves philosophizing with students and the creation of a teacher education agenda in which teachers study and practice the art of facilitating philosophical experiences with their students. Created in 2007, it is sponsored by the Center for Philosophical Studies of Childhood at the University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, and includes roughly 20 teachers and 400 students from ages 6 to 70—with the latter as part of an adult literacy class. We have already presented how this project works it some Conferences and publications. This paper presents some of its main theoretical principles, i. e.: “thinking experiences”; “intellectual equality”; “philosophy for children”; “a new policy”.