From Cultivating Thinking to Nurturing Meaning: Re-envisioning Philosophy for Children as an Interactive Meaning-Making System in the Context of the Educational Meaning Crisis

Abstract

Contemporary education increasingly rewards measurable cognitive performance and digital competence, yet many students report low motivation, anxiety, and a weakened sense of educational purpose. The present article reconceptualizes Philosophy for Children (P4C) as a meaning-centered interactive system capable of responding to this educational meaning crisis. A qualitative theory-building design was adopted, combining systematic conceptual review with philosophical reconstruction. Literature on P4C, meaning in life, dialogic pedagogy, and interactive learning systems was examined across major scholarly databases and synthesized through thematic analysis. The review yielded three core findings: first, mainstream P4C is predominantly framed through cognitive and reasoning-based outcomes; second, current educational discourse insufficiently addresses purpose, coherence, and personal significance; and third, the P4C community of inquiry already contains the structural elements of an interactive system, including rules, roles, feedback, and collaborative interpretation. The article proposes a Meaning-Centered P4C model in which philosophical dialogue functions not only as a method for cultivating reasoning but also as a structured process of collective meaning-making. In this expanded framework, students interpret lived experience, negotiate significance, and orient themselves toward worthwhile forms of participation in a shared world. The model contributes to interdisciplinary discussions across philosophy of education, educational technology, and game-informed learning design by showing how inquiry can support both thinking and meaning.