Children of all ages should study philosophy in school to develop their critical thinking skills, education experts said today.

Academics suggest that, rather than start off with Socrates, teachers use common classroom disputes to help children learn about abstract philosophical principles such as fairness, morality and punishment. They give the example of apportioning blame for spilling paint

The book Philosophy in Schools, edited by Dr Michael Hand of the Institute of Education and Dr Carrie Winstanley of Roehampton University, puts forward several arguments for including philosophy in the school curriculum.

"Critical thinkers are people who reason well, and who judge and act on the basis of their reasoning," Hand says.

"To become critical thinkers, children must learn what constitutes good reasoning and why it's important - and these are philosophical matters.

"Exposure to philosophy should be part of the basic educational entitlement of all children."

In philosophy, the quality of arguments and the meanings of words are under constant scrutiny.

Winstanley said teachers could use popular books to initiate philosophical discussions. For example, Where the Wild Things Are could lead into debates on the existence of monsters, and why the main character's mother sends him to his room without supper.

Winstanley said: "Better than any other subject, philosophy teaches children how to assess reasons, defend positions, define terms, evaluate sources of information and judge the value of arguments and evidence."

Philosophy also allows younger children to engage in discussion and argument even before they know very much.

Children could grasp questions such as, 'Is it fair for a teacher to keep everyone in because someone has lost the scissors?' Winstanley said.

In one class, discussing heroism, eight-year-olds had raised the example of firefighters in the 9/11 attacks unprompted, she said. Older pupils in secondary schools could look at the concepts in more depth and learn about the philosophers that had studied them.

"In knowledge-based subjects, discussion is dominated by the children with the most facts at their fingertips.

"Because philosophical questions cannot be settled by factual evidence, discussion doesn't get derailed by missing knowledge or closed down by the introduction of new information."

The book also includes essays on the role of philosophy in teaching controversial issues, such as abortion, conceptual analysis in the primary classroom, and the place of philosophical thinking in moral and religious education.

It also covers the idea of philosophical intelligence, philosophical themes in children's literature, philosophy and the adolescent's search for meaning, and the connection between philosophy and wisdom.