To coincide with the 2017 School Philosophy Conference on March 16th, Cranleigh is holding a 'Cranleigh Thinking' week. Across the whole curriculum, staff and students will be exploring philosophical questions related to their area of learning. The great value of asking open-ended questions is that they serve to catalyse discussion and debate, and through these processes, students can develop their ability to think critically and reflectively about challenging topics.

1. Cranleigh Thinking Week
Lent Term, Week 10

2. Cranleigh Thinking Week
- Starters
- Seminar discussions
- Class debates
Lent Term, Week 10

3. Questions about Art
Choose a question to discuss with a partner:
• What is art?
• What is beauty?
• Why does art matter to us?
• What is the point of a portrait?
• What do we mean by ‘great’ art?
• ‘The camera never lies’ – true or false?
• What would a world without art be like?
Be prepared to give a summary to your class

4. Questions about Business Studies
Choose a question to discuss with a partner:
• Should all businesses be ethical?
• Should we sell arms to authoritarian countries?
• Are businesses over-regulated?
• Should there be a tax on business?
• Is profit the most important thing in a business?
• Would it be immoral to buy and sell kidneys?
• Is management an art or a science?
• What does it mean to be an ‘ethical’ business?
• Is there such a thing as a ‘fair’ price?
Be prepared to give a summary to your class

5. Questions about Classical Civilisation
Choose a question to discuss with a partner:
• Why was there so little education for women in ancient Greece?
• What can study of classical civilisation tell us about the idea of beauty?
• Was slavery wrong even when no-one believed it was?
• Why do we study ancient civilisations?
• Why do we watch tragedy?
• Can we say that the world has improved in the past 2000 years?
• What did it mean to be a ‘hero’ in the ancient world and does it mean the same
today?
Be prepared to give a summary to your class

6. Questions about Design
Choose a question to discuss with a partner:
• Is sustainability more important than profitability?
• Is function more important than appearance?
• What is the difference between good and bad design?
• Why do we need design?
• Is design an art or a science?
• Where do design ideas come from?
• If you could re-design a human, what would you change?
Be prepared to give a summary to your class

7. Questions about Drama and Theatre Studies
Choose a question to discuss with a partner:
• What is the relationship between an audience and performers?
• What makes people want to act?
• Can theatre change the way we think?
• Is the meaning of a play purely personal?
• What does it mean to ‘become’ a character in a play?
• Should some plays be banned and if so, why?
Be prepared to give a summary to your class

8. Questions about Economics
Choose a question to discuss with a partner:
• Should governments always intervene in cases of market failure?
• Why does productivity matter?
• Could we manage without money?
• Can you put a price on anything?
• Can economics explain human behaviour?
• Are economic laws like the laws of physics?
• Is economic growth a good thing in itself?
• Is there such a thing as a ‘fair’ wage?
Be prepared to give a summary to your class

9. Questions about English
Choose a question to discuss with a partner:
• What would a world without literature be like?
• ‘When I use a word it means just what I choose it to mean’ said Humpty
Dumpty. Was he right?
• Could all language be metaphorical?
• Where do words come from?
• Is there such a thing as the ‘true’ meaning of a poem?
• Do fictional characters exist?
• What makes people write?
• Do non-human animals have a language?
• Does language shape our thought?
Be prepared to give a summary to your class

10. Questions about Geography
Choose a question to discuss with a partner:
• Who is responsible for dealing with climate change?
• Why does inequality matter?
• What should guide our decisions about which parts of the coastline need flood
defences?
• What is a map?
• What defines a country?
• Is Geography an art or a science?
• How many answers are there to the question: ‘where do you live?’
• Is space real or imaginary?
• What is a river?
• If we sent a Geographer to Mars, what would they do?
Be prepared to give a summary to your class

11. Questions about Geology
Choose a question to discuss with a partner:
• What is a rock?
• Can Geology prove how old the Earth is?
• Could animal behaviour predict earthquakes?
• If you split a rock in half, do you always get 2 rocks?
• Is it irrational to live near a volcano?
• How sure can we be about what is inside the Earth?
Be prepared to give a summary to your class

12. Questions about History
Choose a question to discuss with a partner:
• ‘All history is the history of thought’ (Collingwood). Is it?
• Is the past real?
• Is there such a thing as a true historical record?
• Does the way we think of historical events change the way they are?
• Why do human beings tell stories about their past?
• Do non-human animals have an awareness of history?
• What do we mean by the cause of an event?
Be prepared to give a summary to your class

13. Questions about IT
Choose a question to discuss with a partner:
• Should we do more about online privacy?
• Can computers think?
• Are there any jobs a robot couldn’t do?
• Could we be living in a virtual reality?
• Is the mind a computer?
• Could computers have feelings?
Be prepared to give a summary to your class

14. Questions about Modern Foreign Languages
Choose a question to discuss with a partner:
• Why do we need tenses?
• Does language shape culture or culture shape language?
• Where do words come from?
• What makes people write?
• Does language shape our thought?
• Is any translation perfect?
Be prepared to give a summary to your class.

15. Questions about Maths
Choose a question to discuss with a partner:
• What is a ratio?
• If the universe was to disappear, would 2 + 2 = 4 still be true?
• Is maths a language?
• Was maths discovered or invented?
• Do numbers exist?
• Could anything be infinite?
• Why is mathematics so useful?
• Can you imagine a world where maths didn’t work?
Be prepared to give a summary to your class

16. Questions about Music
Choose a question to discuss with a partner:
• What does it mean to say a piece of music is ‘happy’ or ‘sad’?
• Why do we listen to music?
• How does music acquire meaning?
• Can everyday sounds be a form of music?
• Is birdsong a form of music?
• Can silence be musical?
• Is musical quality purely a matter of personal taste?
Be prepared to give a summary to your class

17. Questions about Music Technology
Choose a question to discuss with a partner:
• Could a computer compose music?
• Is the growth of online file-sharing ruining the music industry?
• Why do we listen to music?
• How does music acquire meaning?
• Is musical quality purely a matter of personal taste?
Be prepared to give a summary to your class

18. Questions about PE
Choose a question to discuss with a partner:
• Is mindset more important than physical ability?
• Should more be done to combat drugs in sport?
• How does the mind influence the body?
• What is the definition of ‘health’?
• Is the body a machine?
• Has sport been corrupted by money?
• Why does winning matter?
Be prepared to give a summary to your class

19. Questions about Philosophy and Ethics
Choose a question to discuss with a partner:
• What is Philosophy?
• Why don’t people agree about questions of Philosophy and Ethics?
• What should philosophers be thinking about in the modern world?
• Could a bad person be a good philosopher?
• If you click on the first hyperlink of a Wikipedia page, and keep doing it for
the next page and so on, eventually you get to Philosophy. Why?
• Has Science taken over from Philosophy?
Be prepared to give a summary to your class

20. Questions about Politics
Choose a question to discuss with a partner:
• What is justice?
• What should politicians aim to achieve?
• Could an ideal society exist?
• Is democracy philosophically defensible?
• Where do rights come from?
• Should the voting age be lowered?
• Would having a single world government help?
Be prepared to give a summary to your class

21. Questions about Science
Choose a question to discuss with a partner:
• What is science?
• Could there be a scientific explanation of love?
• Are species real?
• What is energy?
• Can everything in chemistry be explained in terms of electron density?
• Does quantum mechanics imply the world is fundamentally random?
• What is the difference between science and maths?
• Is history part of science?
• How many sciences are there?
• Could there be a science of ghosts?
• Could science come to an end?
• Does science rule out faith or depend on it?
Be prepared to give a summary to your class