Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children, Volume 17, Numbers 1 & 2

69

T he Dao of P4C
JUNG YEUP KIM
IntroductionT

his mysterious text was
excavated in
the Pacific Ocean,
where the legendary
Hawaiian Islands was
purported to have existed, in the year
3721. It is one of the
few writings thathave survived the nuclear war in the year
3003, when almost
everything of the ancient civilizations had been destroyed.
It is very difficult for us to know the historical situation
when this book was written or who wrote it and to what
school the author belonged. However, with the few remaining archeological fragments we have, we have put together
a hypothetical description of the background of this mysterious text.
The author seems to have studied under the ‘infantsage,’ one of the 14 sages that had shared their wisdom with
their disciples, and was inspired to write this book under the
influence of the sages’ teachings. The real name of the sage
is not known. However, it is purported that the sage sometimes went by the name of Dr.J, so we can categorize theauthor as having written this book under the school of Dr.J.
From the remaining fragments it has been analyzed that thisDr.J seems to have been a tall male of Caucasian descent.
He was famous for his friendly smile. He is said to have
lived a time of 500 years due to his secret elixir called‘chocolate.’ Besides the teachings of the ‘infant sage,’ theauthor has incorporated the teachings of a sage named‘Laozi’ who seems to have lived near the author’s point oforigin. However, it is impossible for us to get a grasp of
who this ‘Laozi’ was, but it seems that Laozi lived in a time
too ancient for us to recollect.
Unfortunately, few works of Dr.J have survived thenuclear war. The ‘infant sage’ Dr. J seemed to have beenworking on a project called ‘P4C.’ There have been controversies of what this means but it is highly plausible that itmeans ‘Philosophy for Children.’ As the remaining fragments tell us, this project of P4C was initially started by another master possibly named Matthew Lipman. Lipman,wondering what possible benefit anyone would obtain fromlogic, wrote a book called Harry Stottlemeier’s Discovery(amongst many other works) to help children understandlogic. Lipman took a group of children forming a‘community of inquiry’ through their dialogues as themodel for his book, and hoped that his works would “helpchildren span the chasms between wonder and reflection,
between reflection and dialogue, and between dialogue andexperience.”1
We do not know if this work of the mysterious author isan adequate representation of the school of Dr.J, but it being the only text to survive from this school, we rely on it tounderstand the teachings of the ancient sage. Hundreds oftranslations have been done of this text, and there still remain many controversial points. However, despite the difficulties, this school of thought has provided the most influential way of thinking that has shaped our education as it istoday (4002).
The Dao of P4C
The five things that the master and his disciples meditatedon were: Children, Thinking, Community, Inquiry,
Philosophy
To the question: “Why is Philosophy for Children needed?”
the master replies:“To help students develop their ability to think forthemselves and to use that ability in a responsible way.”“To set people on the journey to become ever more confident and competent facilitators of philosophicalinquiry.”
To the question “How do we do it?” The master replies:“Plain Vanilla”
As a disciple of the ‘infant sage of the West,’ Dr.J, I havemeditated on these teachings of the master and also my experience as a practitioner/facilitator of P4C at schools andhave integrated them with the philosophy of the ancientmaster Laozi who is considered as the ‘infant sage of theEast.’ The reason I do this is because of the striking resonance between the teachings of the sages, and also between
my experience and the teachings. It seems that P4C is a realization of the Dao. The other reason I do this is because it
is my hope that people from both East and West may feelthat they are not far apart, and that they may be come closer
to one another in harmony.
Jung-Yeup Kim (jykim@hawaii.edu) is a Ph.D. candidate in philosophy at U/H Manoa focusing on Chinese philosophy. He has been a
graduate teaching assistant with P4C since 2001.

70

Jung Yeup Kim, The Dao of P4C

Chapter 55
The Dao of the Community of Inquiry I
To possess Power that runs deep, Is to be like a newborn
Child.
Poisonous insects do not sting it, Fierce beasts do not seize
it,Birds of prey do not strike it. It’s bones are yielding, Its
muscles are relaxed, Its grip it is strong. It does not yet
know the union of male and female, yet its virility is active.
Its Life force is at its greatest. I can scream all day, Yet it
does not become hoarse.
Its Harmony is at its greatest. To know Harmony is called[Chang].
To know [Chang] is called insight. To enhance life is called
propitious.
To be conscious of Influence is called strength. Things
overgrown must decline.
This is not the Tao. What is not the Tao will soon end.
The state of the community ofinquiry should be a state of harmony “The Shuowen defines he[harmony] as “mutual responsiveness” xiangying. The etymologyof this term is culinary, takes usback to geng, a gruel-like stapleof the early diet, comparable
probably with the contemporary
congee or zhou. Geng was madeby combining he, the widely cultivated fox-millet, and otherlocally available ingredients, in service to the palate, kou.
Harmony is the art of combining and blending two or more
foodstuffs so they come together with mutual benefit andenhancement without losing their separate and particular
identities, and yet with the effect of constituting a frictionless whole … harmony is distinguished from mere
agreement by again invoking the central role of particularity.” 2
So the community of inquiry should not be a unity ofsame opinions but a harmony of each individual opinions
Harmony does not always imply peacefulness. It contains
tension and even conflict among the particulars. Harmony
without tension would not be harmony at all, but rather auniform agreement. To fully understand harmony here, wemust understand what ‘chang’ and ‘insight’ are for Laozi.
‘Chang’ appears in chapter 16 and 28. Chapter 16: “…
Experiencing [chang] is Clarity. Not to experience [chang]is to be heedless in one’s actions—bad luck. Experiencing[chang], then one is all-embracing, all embracing, an impartial Prince, Prince then King, King then Heaven, Heaventhen Tao, Tao then one lasts very long. As to destroying theself, there will be nothing to fear.” Chapter 28: “Be familiar
with Masculinity but watch over Femininity … Be familiar
with what is praiseworthy but watch over what is disgrac eful …. Your [chang power] will be sufficient. Turn back tobeing an Uncarved Block.”3
In chapter 16 ‘chang’ is described as ‘all embracing’.
Experiencing it will lead to impartiality. In Chapter 28 it issaid: “Don’t be attached to one of the opposites and returnto the ‘uncarved block’ (= unnamed=unfixed=unbiased=
nature=spontaneity) and your ‘chang power’ will be sufficient. The impartial state of having balanced the opposites,
this is harmony and this is the state of the infant.” This is
the way of the community of inquiry.
In chapter 36 Laozi defines what insight is: “Whenyou want to shrink something you must always enlarge it.
When you want to weaken something you must always
strengthen it. When you want to neglect something you
must always involve yourself with it. When you want todeprive something you must always give to it. This is called‘subtle [insight].’”4 Therefore, insight, for Laozi, is understanding that all things are interdependent and that they dynamically correspond with one another. This state of interdependence and correspondence is the state of harmony.
Knowing this is the way of the community of inquiry.
Chapter 32 - The Dao of the Community of Inquiry 2
The way is forever nameless. Though the uncarved block issmall,
No one in the world dare claim its allegiance. Should lords
and princes be able to hold fast to it, the myriad creatures
will submit of their own accord, Heaven and Earth willunite and sweet dew will fall, and the people will be equitable, though no one so decrees. Only when it is cut are there
names. As soon as there are names, one ought to know
when to stop. Knowing when to stop, one can be free fromdanger. The way is to the world as the River and the Sea are
to rivulets and streams.
There are two important metaphors that Laozi uses here. I will
explain the second one first. The
metaphor using the river, sea,rivulets and streams can be amodel for the community of inquiry. The rivulets are created by
the river. Likewise the individuals
are created by the community.
However, this is not the end. The
streams create the sea. Likewise
the individuals create the community. However, this is not
the end. The streams create the sea. Likewise the individuals create the community. The community of inquiry is acreative interaction between the community and the individuals. It is not a one sided process of inquiry. This metaphor can be used to explain the relationship between thefacilitator and the inquirers also. They mutually create one
another. It is not a one way process. The second metaphor isthat of the ‘Uncarved Block.’ This is one of the most important metaphors of Laozi. It is used to describe the state of

Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children, Volume 17, Numbers 1 & 2

the Dao. Uncarved means unnamed. Unnamed means unfixed. That is, names fix things. Laozi wanted to escape thestate of fixing things. They produce artificial prejudices.
Names seem to be real but are not. They are distinctions ofconvention. If we are attached to these names, our minds
will become fixed. If our minds become fixed we will neverexperience the way. It is the same with the community ofinquiry. If the inquirers are always confined to their own
prejudices and are not willing to see that it is merely how
they name this world, they will never get to any fruitful insight. Although the child metaphor is not used here, It isclear that Laozi understands the state of the Uncarved Blockas the state of the child. The way of the river, rivulet,
streams and sea, the way of the Uncarved Block, This is theway of the community of inquiry.
Chapter 49 – The Dao of the Facilitator
Evolved individuals have no fixed mind; they make the mindof the People their mind. To those who are good, I am
good; to those who are not good, I am also good. Goodness
is Power. Of those who trust, I am trusting; of those who do
not trust, I am also trusting. Trust is Power. The Evolved
Individuals in the world attract the world and merge withits mind. The People all focus their eyes and ears; evolved
individuals all act as infants.
The facilitator should not have afixed mind. If he or she does, thiswould be detrimental to the community of inquiry. He or sheshould try to encompass as many
views as possible. As Ronald F.
Reed asserts “If questioning is tooccur in a Philosophy for Children discussion, it ought to involve asking of questions where
the answers are not already known to the person asking thequestion.” (36) He or she must have the virtue of impartia lity. He or she must also be willing to maintain her/his goodness and trust to even the most hostile groups. This is thepower of the facilitator. If he or she can do this he or she
will be able to attract the inquirers and focus their minds.
This is the state of the infant. This is the way of the facilitator.
Chapter 28
The Dao of the Inquirer (Philosopher)
Know the male, Hold to the female; Become the world’s
stream. By being the world’s stream, The power will neverleave, This is returning to Infancy. Know the white, Hold tothe black; By becoming the world’s pattern, The Power will
never falter. This is returning to Limitlessness. Know theglory, Hold to the obscurity; Become the world’s valley. By
being the world’s valley, The Power will be sufficient. Thisis returning to Simplicity. When Simplicity is broken up, It

71

is made into instruments. Evolved Individuals who employ
them are made into leaders. In this way the Great System isunited.
As we can see from the above, theinquirer should take all cases into
consideration (The male/female,white/black, glory/obscurity). Heshould know how to balance all
views. Believing that only one side isright is what Laozi despised most.
This lead to false distinctions, which
in turn lead to artific iality and superficiality. The attitude of the inquirer
should be like the valley and stream. It is not on top of everything but below everything. However, because of this it
can comprehend everything. It is the state of non-fixation,
non-prejudice. It is the state of an infant. The way of thevalley and stream, the way of the infant, this is the way of
the inquirer.
Chapter 20
The Dao of Thinking for Yourself
Discard the academic; have no anxiety. How much difference is there between agreement and servility? How muchdifference is there between good and evil? That one should
revere what others revere—how absurd and uncentered!
The Collective Mind is expansive and flourishing. As if receiving a great sacrifice, As if ascending a living observatory. I alone remain uncommitted, Like an infant who has
not yet smiled, Unattached, without a place to merge. I
alone seem to be overlooked. I am unknowing to the coreand unclear, unclear! Ordinary people are bright and obvious; I alone am dark and obscure. Ordinary people are exacting and sharp; I alone am subdued and dull. Indifferent
like the sea, Ceaseless like a penetrating wind, The Collective Mind is ever present. And yet, I alone am unruly andremote. I alone am different from the others, In treasuring
nourishment from the Mother.
What is thinking for yourself?
This was one of the topics focusedon in a P4C session. Related to theabove passage from theDaodejing, we can see that Laozi
is against any kind of conventional
fixation of thought. He takes thecollective mind of all people into
consideration. That is why he cannot be fixed. If we can maintain astate like an infant, a state of nonprejudice and non-fixation, we
will be able to expand ourthoughts more naturally without
being confined to what is thought to be the case. Thinking

72Jung Yeup Kim, The Dao of P4C

for yourself is not to allow yourself to be ossified by convention and prejudice. Thinking for yourself is thinking independently and creatively. The way of the collective mind,
this is the way of thinking for yourself.
The Dao of Intellectual Safety
Confucius said: “…only after
one has settled down does
one feel safe, and only after
one feels safe can one think,and only after one can think
can one obtain.”5 ‘The Way
of Intellectual Safety’, theright to keep silent, in myview, is one of the profoundpart of the sage’s teachings.
The right to silence willparadoxically end one’s silence. When forced to speak one may not be able to speak.
This corresponds with the teachings of Laozi in the
Daodejing. In chapter 40 Laozi says “Polarity is the mov ement of the Dao. Receptivity is the way it is used.”6 Polarity here is also translated as ‘Reversal.’ The movement of
the way is paradoxical. When you go to one pole it will end
up in the opposite pole. If you ask someone to speak it mightmake her/him silent. If you let her/him be silent he or she
may speak up. Also the way is always receptive. It does notcoerce. By not coercing it leaves things to proceed naturally. This is the way of intellectual safety. This is the wayof the inquirer.

tion, safety of the environment?) and “How was
our inquiry?” (did it
maintain a f ocus, scratch
beneath the surface, allow
new understanding, challenge your thoughts, andwas it interesting?) Cognitive tools such as
WRAITEC are used tohelp the process. W:
What? R: Reasons? A:
Assumptions? I: Inferences T: True E: Examples C: Counterexamples. These
tools are used when you have fears of doubt that creep into
you and hinder you from following the path of inquiry. They
must not be used artificially but must be acquired naturally
over a long period of time. There are also magic words thatthe sage had used to expel the evil spirits that may obscure
the path of inquiry. To name a few: “IDUS” (I don’t understand) “OMT” (One moment please) “POC” (Point ofclarification) “LMO” (Let’s move on) “GOS” (Going off
subject). If you have fully understood the above teachings ofthe sages and have acquired how to use these tools andmagic words to the point of spontaneity, you are ready to
go on to leave for the journey of inquiry. You are on theverge of becoming an inquirer, you are on the verge of becoming a philosopher. This is the way of plain vanilla. Thisis the way of the inquirer.
Notes

The Dao of no Rush –1.

The Master said: “We are not in a hurry to get anywhere.
However, that does not mean that we are not going anywhere.” Laozi says in chapter 37 of the Daodejing: “Theway never acts yet nothing is left undone.”7 This does notmean that you should not act. Rather it means you should
not be aware that you are acting Artificial awareness of
your actions gets you no where. Rather you should let
things go on their natural course. Laozi says in chapter 17:“…when his [the sage] task is accomplished and his work
done, the people say, “It happened to us naturally.”’8 Thisis the way of no rush, this is the way of the inquirer.

2.

The Dao of ‘Plain Vanilla’ (Ordinary Rice)…Is to read together, pick questions together from the readings, discuss together the questions, evaluate the discussion
and introduce skill development exercises, as a reflective
community. The topics are selected by the community andbegins where the community is in its understanding. It is aprocess of co-inquiry, no one knows THE answer nor where
the inquiry will lead. It is a self -corrective process. The
community evaluates itself with the criteria of: “How did
we do as a community?” (how was the listening, participa-

3.
4.

5.

6.
7.
8.
9.

Ann Margaret Sharp and Ronald Reed ed., Studies in Philosophy
for Children (Philadelphia: Temple University Press 1992) , p. 7.
Ames, R.T. and David L. Hall, Thinking From the Han: Self,
Truth, and Transcendence in China and Western Culture (NewYork: SUNY Press 1998, p.181)
Wing, R.L., Dao of Power, (New York: Doubleday, 1986).
Laozi, Daodejing, Trans. D.C. Lau (Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 2001).
This quote is from chapter one of the The Great Learning. The
Great Learning is one of the four great books of Confucianism,
the other three being The Analects, The Mencius and The Doctrine of the Mean. The translation of the quote is mine.
Laozi, Daodejing, Trans. D.C. Lau.
Idem.
Idem.
Calligraphy courtesy of Chan Lee, currently a philosophy graduate student at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa.

Bibliographic References
1.
2.
3.
4.

Ann Margaret Sharp and Ronald Reed ed., Studies in Philosophy
for Children (Philadelphia: Temple University Press 1992) , p. 7.
Ames, R.T. and David L. Hall, Thinking From the Han: Self,
Truth, and Transcendence in China and Western Culture (NewYork: SUNY Press 1998, p.181)
Wing, R.L., Dao of Power, (New York: Doubleday, 1986).
Laozi, Daodejing, Trans. D.C. Lau (Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 2001).