Abstract

Given the need to expand the spaces for democratic coexistence in today’s Venezuelan society, the Universidad Metropolitana has joined the UNESCO initiative of early philosophy teaching. One of the fundamental challenges that this presents is the selection of the ideal didactic resources for philosophical reflection with school-age children. This article presents the arguments that serve as a starting point for the adoption of Le Petit Prince, by Antoine Saint-Exupery, as one of the texts that integrate the corpus of a Philosophy for Children program in Venezuela. Adopting as a theoretical and referential framework the idea of assuming literature as a didactic resource for philosophical reflection and dialogue, this novel has been selected for the simplicity of its writing, the characteristics of its characters, and the deep heuristic value of its plot. Among the main results obtained in this study is that the story contained in this work constitutes a fertile ground for thinking and discussing individualism as an enemy of democratic citizenship in the twenty-first century. It was published for the first time in France in 1943, but due to the importance and validity of its message, it constitutes a didactic resource of great value for the philosophical and civic education of Venezuelan children today.