Philosophy and theory in the study of gifted children

Philosophers in the Western tradition have, as a rule, not devoted systematic attention to children. However, a recent book, The Philosopher's Child: Critical Essays in the Western Tradition (Turner & Matthews, 1998), demonstrates that many important philosophers have discussed children in ways which are profound and illuminating with regard to children in general and gifted children in particular. This article examines a pair of positions by diverse philosophers—the ancient Stoics and the contemporary moral and political philosopher John Rawls—and shows the relevance of their disagreement concerning the way children develop morally. The position produced from this disagreement, duly developed, is then applied to two generally accepted features of giftedness, the sensitivity to justice (and injustice) as well as the frequently intense desire for perfection. The point of this application is not to suggest that the conclusions drawn from the philosophers are necessarily true, but only to show the fertile ground that the history of philosophy offers to professional educators as far as generating concepts and explanations in the field of gifted education.