In Conversation With
To Zhou Guoping, every child is a natural born
EDUCATION SALON INTERVIEW
philosopher. Childhood itself has its own intrin-
sic value. It is precisely the pure curiosity through
a child’s eyes that inspires our motivation to seek Guest - Zhou Guoping, Philosopher and Scholar
knowledge, which in turn leads us to indepen- Host - Sabrina Liu, Director for Marketing and
dent thinking. And that is exactly what philosophy Communications, Keystone
aspires to cultivate.
Student hosts - Zheng Yuyu, Grade 11 student, Keystone
Wang Zikun, Grade 10 student, Keystone
Guiding engaging philosophical deliberations in
front of an audience of diverse age groups and
from all corners of the world can be a tall order.
Every Child Is a Natural Born Philosopher
But Zhou Guoping masterfully navigated the dis-
course, introducing a range of philosophical views Sabrina Liu: Hello, Mr. Zhou. As you just said in
simply and with humor, often relying on vivid your lecture, in a sense, every child is a sponta-
examples to illustrate basic ideas stemming from neous philosopher. Wisdom begins with curiosity,
curiosity, doubt and uncertainty. From there, he and children boast the strongest curiosity. In front
spoke about the reason for the philosophical mind; of a new world and life, they ask about everything.
ontology, epistemology, ethics and morality; Many questions active in their brain are truly phil-
about objective reality and subjective well being; osophical. Philosophy is originally an inquiry into
and about the value of philosophy.
the truths of the world and of life, and childhood
and adolescence provide the best opportunities for
“Philosophy is more than a science or a field of
such inquiry to happen. Then, how do you think
study,” Zhou Guoping said, “It is a way of life in parents should protect and even encourage their
pursuit of wisdom. Anyone keeping a philosophi- children’s philosophical interest?
cal mind will always encounter new surprises and
entertain new doubts,” he continued. What sets Zhou Guoping: First of all, I advise against expect-
us apart from each other is our curiosity about the ing of them to read philosophy textbooks or study
world and our independent thinking. “If you keep philosophy deliberately or formally. The most
thinking about bigger questions, even if you don’t important thing for parents to do is to listen care-
find the answers, you help develop a more mag- fully to their children and the questions they raise
nanimous mind.” Zhou Guoping concluded the before discussing their questions with them on an
evening with a quote by Oscar Wilde: We are all in equal footing. Many parents are impatient about
the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. “I these types of questions and often reject them
hope that you are all looking at the stars.”
with a simple statement: “Why do you bother to
think about such questions? Leave them alone!”
Born in Shanghai, Zhou Guoping studied philoso-
phy at Peking University and received his Master’s
An even worse way for parents to respond to their
and Doctoral degrees from the Chinese Academy of children’s questions is by giving them a vague
Social Sciences. He is currently a research fellow at answer. For example, when a child asks, “Why
the Institute of Philosophy of the Academy, spe- do people die? I don’t want to die.” A parent may
cializing in Nietzsche and aesthetics. answer immediately, “If no one dies, how can
Below follows a transcript of the September 8, a question of physics but one of the soul that can-
2017, Education Salon hosting Zhou Guoping. not be answered in this way.
Earth accommodate so many people?” This is not
The Keystone Magazine 64