--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Adults discourage children from asking…" description: "\"“Adults discourage children from asking philosophical questions, first by being patronizing to them and then by directing their inquiring minds towards..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/458/gareth-b-matthews-111808_adults_adults-discourage-children-from-asking-p_1826273.jpg" --- # Adults discourage children from asking philosophical… ![“Adults discourage children from asking philosophical questions, first by being patronizing to them and then by directing their inquiring minds towards more "useful" questions. Most adults aren't themselves interested in philosophical questions. They may be threatened by some of them. Moreover, it…” quote by Gareth B. Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/458/gareth-b-matthews-111808_adults_adults-discourage-children-from-asking-p_1826273.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/458/gareth-b-matthews-111808_adults_adults-discourage-children-from-asking-p_1826273.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/458/gareth-b-matthews-111808_adults_adults-discourage-children-from-asking-p_1826273.jpg) > ““Adults discourage children from asking philosophical questions, first by being patronizing to them and then by directing their inquiring minds towards more "useful" questions. Most adults aren't themselves interested in philosophical questions. They may be threatened by some of them. Moreover, it doesn't occur to most adults that there are questions that a child can ask that they can't provide a definitive answer to and that aren't answered in a standard dictionary or encyclopedia either.”” [Gareth B. Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gareth-b-matthews/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Adults discourage children from philosophical inquiry, often steering them toward practical questions. **In simple terms:** Adults limit kids’ deep questioning. Key Takeaway Encourage open philosophical dialogue with children. Themes education philosophy child development authority Mood thoughtful concerned Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - classroom teaching - parent‑child conversations - public discourse Key Concepts pedagogy critical thinking cognitive development Questions to Reflect On - How can adults balance practicality and curiosity? - What benefits arise from early philosophical thinking? A Different Perspective Practical knowledge also has value. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults/) [Adults Discourage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults-discourage-2236056/) [Adults Questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults-questions-2236055/) [Asking Philosophical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asking-philosophical-2236054/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Philosophical questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophical-questions/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Questions Adults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questions-adults-1381992/) ## Related quotes > [Science fiction is very well suited to asking philosophical questions; questions about the nature of reality, what it means to be human, how do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-chiang/science-fiction-is-very-well-suited-to-asking-philosophical-questions/) [Ted Chiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-chiang/) > [Children ask better questions than adults. "May I have a cookie?" "Why is the sky blue?" and "What does a cow say?" are far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/children-ask-better-questions-than-adults-may-i-have-a-cookie-why-is/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [Kids enjoy laughing and are seldom bored when they find something funny. They also ask questions, often to adults, because they understand that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-p-cleary/kids-enjoy-laughing-and-are-seldom-bored-when-they-find-something/) [Brian P. Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-p-cleary/) > [Generally I find that kids ask better questions than you get with adults. Something that kids will do a lot is, they're so nervous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/generally-i-find-that-kids-ask-better-questions-than-you-get-with/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [Children ask questions much more than adults do, and you have to wonder if this is something we have that we lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/children-ask-questions-much-more-than-adults-do-and-you-have-to/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [“So, when I write a piece of fiction I select my characters and settings and so on because they have a bearing, at least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/so-when-i-write-a-piece-of-fiction-i-select-my-characters-and/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [I'm not a sociologist, and the novel has often concerned itself with sociology. 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I hadn't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/quite-early-on-and-certainly-since-i-started-writing-i-found-that/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [One of the recurring philosophical questions is: 'Does a falling tree in the forest make a sound when there is no one to hear?'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/one-of-the-recurring-philosophical-questions-is-does-a-falling-tree/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Philosophical questions and modes of thought just seem natural to me. They mesh with the way my mind works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-scheffler/philosophical-questions-and-modes-of-thought-just-seem-natural-to-me/) [Samuel Scheffler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-scheffler/) > [Science will always raise philosophical questions like, is any scientific theory or model correct? How do we know? Are unobserved things real? etc. and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-crane/science-will-always-raise-philosophical-questions-like-is-any/) [Tim Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-crane/) ## More by Gareth B. Matthews > [“Apparently, philosophy persists, even though less obviously and less insistently than once. If John has trimmed his interests to conform to the expectations of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gareth-b-matthews/apparently-philosophy-persists-even-though-less-obviously-and-less/) [Gareth B. Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gareth-b-matthews/) [Explore all 2 Gareth B. Matthews quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gareth-b-matthews/) ## More Adults quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. 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I do believe that young adults go to college to learn things, and that this process will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-weingarten/i-do-not-believe-in-public-shaming-i-do-believe-that-young-adults-go/) [Gene Weingarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-weingarten/) > [The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance”: “The differences between expert performers and normal adults are not immutable, that is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-anders-ericsson/the-role-of-deliberate-practice-in-the-acquisition-of-expert/) [K. 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As much as we like them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-abagnale/when-i-was-a-child-at-sixteen-i-was-just-a-child-all-sixteen-year/) [Frank Abagnale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-abagnale/) [Browse all 3,113 Adults quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Adults discourage children from asking philosophical questions, first by being patronizing to them and then by directing their inquiring minds towards more \"useful\" questions. Most adults aren't themselves interested in philosophical questions. They may be threatened by some of them. Moreover, it doesn't occur to most adults that there are questions that a child can ask that they can't provide a definitive answer to and that aren't answered in a standard dictionary or encyclopedia either.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gareth B. 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