Critical Analysis of Matthew Lipman's Multidimensional Thinking In Philosophy for Children (P4C) from The Perspective of Islamic Thought
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21111/tasfiyah.v10i1.6Keywords:
Matthew Lipman, Philosophy for Children, Multidimensional Thinking, Islamic ThoughtAbstract
This study employs a critical descriptive-comparative approach to examine Matthew Lipman’s concept of multidimensional thinking in Philosophy for Children (P4C) from the perspective of Islamic thought. In the context of global education that prioritizes STEAM disciplines to promote Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS), Lipman’s framework highlights critical, creative, and caring thinking as core dimensions. However, Islamic epistemology offers a more holistic understanding of thought. Using qualitative analysis, this study first reconstructs Lipman’s ideas based on Thinking in Education and Philosophy Goes to School, alongside classical Islamic concepts of ‘aql (intellect), qalb (heart), and nafs (soul). A comparative analysis is conducted to identify key similarities and differences, followed by a critical evaluation of the epistemological limitations of Lipman’s model. The findings indicate that, in Islam, thinking transcends rational processes and encompasses spiritual and ethical dimensions. While Lipman’s model is valuable in cultivating reflective thinking, it remains largely secular. Islam, by contrast, integrates reason, intuition, and divine consciousness. This study concludes that multidimensional thinking in Islam reflects the principle of tawḥīd al-‘ilm, offering a more integrated framework that unifies intellectual, moral, and spiritual dimensions of knowledge.
References
Abdallah Rothman and Adrian Coyle. “Toward a Framework for Islamic Psychology and Psychotherapy: An Islamic Model of the Soul.” Journal of Religion and Health 57, no. 5 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-018-0651-x.
Abdul Karim bin Hawazin bin Abdul Mulki Al-Qusyairi. Lathaif Al-Isharat. Volume 2. Egypt: Hayyiah Misriyyah, 1431.
Abu Hamid Muhammad bin Muhammad Al-Ghazali. Ihya Ulumuddin. Juz 3. Beirut: Dar Ma’arif, 1431.
Abu Laits Nasr Abu Muhammad bin Ibrahim As-Samarqandi. Bahrul Ulum. Volume 3. Beirut,: Dar-alkitab Ilmiyah, 1431.
Akan R., Çüçen A. (2023). The interrelation between Philosophy for Children (P4C) and creative thinking. Balkan Journal of Philosophy, 15(1), 35–40. https://doi.org/10.5840/bjp20231515.
Al-Attas, SMN. On Justice and The Nature of Man: A Commentary of Surah An-Nisa(4):58 and Surah Al-Mukminun(23). Kuala Lumpur: Ta’dib International, 2020.
Al-Attas, Syed Muhammad Naquib. Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam. Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC, 1995,.
Al-Faruqi, Ismail Raji. Al-Tawhid: Its Implications for Thought and Life. Herndon, VA: International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1982.
Al-Maraghi, Ahmad Mustafa. Tafsir Al Maraghi. Vol.1. Egypt: Syrkah Maktabah Mustafa, 1431.
Al-Maturidi, Abu Mansur. Tafsir Al-Maturidi- Ta’wilat Ahlul Sunnah. Juz 10. Beirut: Dar-al-Kitab Ilmiyah, 1433.
Al, Robert Ginsberg et. Pragmatism, Education, and Children. NewYork: Rodopi, 2008.
Aminurrashid Ahmad Dahari, Asmawati Suhid, and Fathiyah Fakhrudin. “Implementation Critical Thinking in Teaching Islamic Education.” International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development 8 no. 4, no. 805–23 (2019). https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarped/v8-i4/6756.
Annison, Harry. “Mattew Lipman Thinking In Education.” Cambridge University Press, 2011.
Ar-Razi, Fakhruroddin. Tafsir Kabir-Mafatihul Ghaib. Volume 31. Beirut: Dar-Ihya, 1431.
Arroisi, Jarman. “Fakhr Al-Din Al-Razi’s Perspective Theory of the Soul: Study of Islamic Psychological Thought Models.” Sunan Ampel State Islamic University Surabaya chapt (2016).
Arroisi, Jarman. Islamic Psychology: Reading the Anatomy of Thought of the Soul of Fakhr Al-Din Al-Razi. Ponorogo: Unida Press, 2022.
Atsiruddin, Abu Hayyan Muhammad bin Yusuf bin Hayyan. Tafsir Bahrul Muhith. Beirut: Dar-al-Fikr, 1431.
Balcı E., Eryılmaz R. (2024). The impact of Philosophy for Children (P4C) activities on enhancing the speaking skills of gifted students. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, Article 1451532. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1451532.
Biesta, Gert. Good Education in an Age of Measurement: Ethics, Politics, Democracy. Boulder: Paradigm Publishers, 2010.
Caiyun Wei and Lele Chen (2025). The Effects of Philosophy for Children on Children’s Cognitive Development: A Three-Level Meta-Analysis. Journal of Intelligence, 13(10), 130. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence13100130.
Cam, Philip. “Matthew Lipman (1923–2010).” Diogenes, University of New South Wales 58, No. 4 (2011).
Descartes, René. Descartes: Selected Philosophical Writings. Edited by R. Stoothoff & D. Murdoch J. References Cottingham. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
Dewey, John. Experience and Education. New York: Macmillan, 1938
Dewey, John. Democracy and Education. New York: Macmillan, 1916
Fakhry, Majid. “A History of Islamic Philosophy.” American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, no. 3d Ed (2004).
Gardner, Susan T. Inquiry Is No Mere Conversation: Facilitation of Inquiry Is Hard Work!. Montclair, NJ: Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children, 1995, 38
Grądzka, E. (2025). Matthew Lipman and Ann Margaret Sharp: Philosophy for Children’s Educational Revolution (Book Review). Journal of Philosophy in Schools, 12(2), 204–209. https://doi.org/10.46707/e8jctx72.
Gregory, Maughn. “Philosophy for Children and Its Critics: A Mendham Dialogue.” Journal of Philosophy of Education No. 2, no. 45 (2011).
Haneef, Mohamed Aslam Mohamed, & Amin, Ruzita Mohammad. Conceptual and Practical Dimensions of Islamization of Knowledge: A Case Study of the Economics Program at the IIUM. American Journal of Islam and Society, 1997; 14(2): 188–207. https://doi.org/10.35632/ajis.v14i2.2249
Hashim, Rosnani. Revitalization of Philosophy and Philosophical Inquiry in Muslim Education. Gombak: IIUM Press, 2017.
Hashim, Rosnani. “Rethinking Islamic Education in Facing the Challenges of the Twenty-First Century.” American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 22, no. 4 (2005): 44–61. https://doi.org/10.35632/ajiss.v22i4.451
Hashim, Rosnani, & Ssekamanya, Siraje Abdallah. Islamization of Human Knowledge in Theory and Practice: Achievements, Challenges and Prospects in the IIUM Context. IIUM Journal of Educational Studies, 2013; 1(1–2). https://doi.org/10.31436/ijes.v1i1-2.18
Hookway, Christopher. The Pragmatic Maxim: Essays on Peirce and Pragmatism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Isfahani, Raghib. Al Mufradat Fi Al-Gharib Al-Qur’an. Damsyiq: Dar al Qalam, 1431.
Ismail, Mohd Zaidi. Islam & Higher Order Thinking: An Overview. Kuala Lumpur: IKIM, 2018.
Ismail, Muhammad. Menalar Makna Berpikir Dalam Al-Qur’an. Ponorogo: Unida Press, 2016.
Jirásek I., Jágerová K. (2023). Czech primary school teachers’ experience with the Philosophy for Children (P4C) approach. Cambridge Journal of Education, 54(1), 37–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2023.2255540.
John Dewey, The Quest for Certainty. New York: Minton, Balch & Company, 1929
Juuso, Hannu. Child, Philosophy and Education: Discussing The Intellectual Sources of Philosophy for Children. Finland: Oulu University Press, 2007.
K.J. Topping, S. Trickey, (2014). The role of dialog in philosophy for children, International Journal of Educational Research, 63, 69-78, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2013.01.002.
Kumar, Muthu. “Constructivist Epistemology in Action.” The Journal of Educational Thought (JET) Revue de La Pensée Éducative 40, No. 3 (2006).
Ladd, Rosalind Ekman. Dewey and Lipman, in Pragmatism, Education, and Children. Brill, 2008.
Lipman, Mattew. “Brave Old Subject, Brave New World; History, Theory, and Practice of Philosophy for Children: International Perspectives,” n.d.
Lipman, Matthew. Thinking in Education. Second. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
Lyle, Sue. “Dialogic Teaching: Discussing Theoretical Contexts and Reviewing Evidence from Classroom Practice.” Language and Education 22 no. 3 (2008).
Muhammad bin Ali Ar-Tirmidzi. Bayan Al-Farq Baina as-Shadr, Al-Qolb, Al-Fuad Wa Al-Lubb. Aman, Jordan: : Muasasah Al Bait Al Mulkiyah lil fikr al islami, 2009.
Muslih, Muhammad. Heru Wahyudi, and Amir Reza Kusuma. “Integration of Science and Religion According to Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas and Ian G Barbour.” Journal of Medan Religion Research 13, no. 1 (2022). https://doi.org/10.58836/jpma.v13i1.11740.
Muslih, Muhammad. Filsafat Ilmu. Yogyakarta: Lesfi, 2019.
Muslih, Muhammad. Husserl & Suhrawardi’s Model of Intuitive Knowledge. Ponorogo: CIOS, 2010.
Naisaburi, Imam. Tafsir Al-Basith. Volume 2. Saudi: Umadah Bahts Ilmi, 1435.
Naji, Saeed Hashim, Rosnani. “History, Theory and Practice of Philosophy for Children: International Perspectives.” Routladge Research in Education, 2017.
Natsir, Muhammad. “Comparison of Ibn Sina’s and Suhrawardi’s Thoughts: (Examination of Emanation Theory and Soul Theory).” Wahana Akademika: Journal of Islamic and Social Studies 1, no. 2 (2014).
Paula, Angerami. “Philosophy for Children： Philosophical Antecedents， Major Principle， Critical Evaluation and Proposed Extension,” 2014.
Qs. Surat-Al-Baqarah, n.d.
Rahmat Ardi Nur Rira Da’i Jarman Arroisi. “Konsep Jiwa Menurut Ibnu Sina.” Islamica: Journal of Islamic Studies, 2023.
Rofiq, Ahmad Choirul. “Perspektif K.H. Imam Zarkasyi Mengenai Kesatuan Ilmu Pengetahuan.” Ta’allum: Journal of Islamic Education 6, no. 2 (2018).
Rothschild, Jennifer. “A History of Western Philosophy of Education in Antiquity.” Philosophical Inquiry in Education No. 2, no. 29 (2022).
Sanders Peirce, Charles. The Fixation of Belief. Dalam Nathan Houser dan Christian Kloesel (eds.), The Essential Peirce: Selected Philosophical Writings, Volume 1 (1867–1893). Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1992,
Şişman, Z. B., Ünlü, İ., & Kaşkaya, A. (2026). Effects of Philosophy for Children on Democratic Citizenship Perception: A Mixed-Methods Experimental Study. Sage Open, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440261418832.
S.Oscanayan, Frederick. Matthew Lipman, Ann Marharet Sharp, Philosophy in the Classroom. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1980.
Stone, Jed. “Questioning Education a Critique of Philosophy for Children.” Institute of Education, University of London, n.d.
Sutcliffe, Roger. “Obituary Matthew Lipman (1923–2010).” Elseivier: Thinking Skills and Creativity 6 no. 3 (n.d.). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2011.08.001.
Sutcliffe, Roger Matthew Lipman. “Thinking Skills and Creativity(1923–2010),” 2011.
Uthman, Muhammad Zainy. Thinking Framework. Kuala Lumpur: RZS-CASIS, 2020.
Wan Mazwati Wan Yusoff, Rosnani Hashim. Doing Philosophy for Wisdom in Islamic Education. Gombak: IIUM Press, 2022.
Wahab, M. K. A., Zulkifli, H., & Razak, K. A. (2022). Impact of Philosophy for Children and Its Challenges: A Systematic Review. Children, 9(11), 1671. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9111671.
Westbrook, Robert B. John Dewey and American Democracy. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1991
Yazdi, Mehdi ha’iri. “The Principles of Epistemology in Islamic Philosophy: Knowledge by Presence.” University of New York Press, 1992. https://doi.org/10.5860/choice.30-2609.
Zarkasyi, Hamid Fahmi. Minhaj: Berislam Dari Ritual Hingga Intelektual. Jakarta: INSIST, 2020.
Downloads
Submitted
Accepted
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Tasfiyah: Jurnal Pemikiran Islam
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
