摘要
The idea of Philosophy for Children （P4C） initiated by Matthew Lipman aims to foster critical and creative thinking in children through the pedagogy of a community of inquiry. In his formulation of P4C, Lipman emphasizes the role of logical reasoning in thinking and assumes a mutually reinforcing relationship between critical and creative thinking. In this paper, I present an example of a real classroom dialogue which illustrates the inherent tension between logical and creative thinking, as well as the need to go beyond critical thinking. I then proceed to argue for the importance of communication in creating and sustaining a genuine community of inquiry. In conclusion, I suggest that John Dewey＇s view of communication as essentially transformative, aesthetic, educative, and moral can be made the basis for envisioning an alternative focus of P4C--namely, the ideal of artful communication, which has far-reaching implications for realizing the democratic idea of ＂community＂ in a community of inquiry.
