Philosophy is a right | Dr Charlotte Blease | TEDxUCD

We expect our children to be literate and numerate but we should also expect them to be philosophically (critically) aware about ideas, arguments, and different ways of viewing the world.

In her TEDxUCD 2015 talk, Charlotte argues that a philosophical education is a right for how else can we expect our citizenry to be active and thoughtful if we don’t encourage critical thinking.

Dr Charlotte Blease is Wellcome Trust Non-Clinical Research Fellow at the Centre for Medical Humanities, University of Leeds and a Research Affiliate at the Program in Placebo Studies, Harvard Medical School.

She is also a founder member of a new independent organisation called Philosophy Ireland which aims to support the teaching of philosophy in Irish schools.

Dr Charlotte Blease studied Science Policy and Communication at University College London and received her doctorate in Philosophy from Queen’s University, Belfast.

Charlotte is currently Wellcome Trust Non-Clinical Research Fellow at the Centre for Medical Humanities, University of Leeds and Research Affiliate at the Program in Placebo Studies, Harvard Medical School.

She has also held appointments at University College Dublin; the Ruhr University, Bochum, Germany; and Queen's University, Belfast.

She is passionate about public education (including Philosophy for Children) and the public understanding of medicine and healthcare. In 2012 she was selected as one of BBC Radio 3's New Generation Thinkers, and is a regular contributor to BBC radio and national literary festivals (TEDx, BBC Free Thinking Festival, Medicine Unboxed).

Twitter: @crblease

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx