Could it help with real life? Teachers, parents and students alike have long complained school does not teach us to think. Some believe we can fix this with a dose of old ideas.
Put philosophy on syllabus says union
Could it help with real life? Teachers, parents and students alike have long complained school does not teach us to think. Some believe we can fix this with a dose of old ideas.
Have you ever felt helpless, confused, adrift at school? Do you read the news and sink into gloom? Do you struggle to put in perspective the events unfolding all around you? The answer might just be philosophy.
That is certainly what Daniel Kebede, head of the National Education Union, the biggest education trade unionAn organisation of workers who band together to negotiate their wages and working conditions collectively, on grounds that this gives them more bargaining power. in the UK, thinks.
He believes teachers should be encouraged to enter into a philosophical dialogueConversation. with their pupils, allowing them to talk about what is happening in the world and in their own lives.1
It may seem radical, but Kebede's idea has a long history. The 18th Century Swiss thinker Jean-Jacques RousseauAn 18th Century Swiss philosopher whose book Reveries of the Solitary Walker extolled the virtues of being alone in nature. argued that children should be understood as "active learners", who are not simply given information but find their own ways of absorbing it.2
Later, Brazilian philosopher of education Paulo FreireA Brazilian philosopher and educator. He advocated critical pedagogy: the idea that teaching should encourage students to think about power structures and inequality. criticised what he called the "banking" model of education, which regards students as empty vessels that must be "filled" with knowledge by their teachers.3 Education should be a dialogue where all participants seek to learn from each other.
That way, everyone comes away with a better understanding of how the world works, where they fit into it, and how it could be improved.
One good place to start, experts think, could be the philosophy of probability.
The doyenThe most respected or important person in a particular field. of probability is David Spiegelhalter, a Cambridge professor who specialises in understanding risk. In his new book, The Art of Uncertainty, he argues that our failure to appreciate how risk and luck work can cause real problems in our lives.4
His work on likelihood can also guide us through misleading headlines. For example, back in 2017, many media outlets reported that burnt toast, and other burnt foods, raises our risk of cancer. The US Food Standards Agency even warned people not to overcook their chips.
Cue deliriumA disturbed state of mind, with symptoms such as hallucinations and confusion. . Until Spiegelhalter pointed out that the increase in risk was so small, even the world's biggest lovers of burnt toast would need to eat 160 times more than they already were before suffering any effects.5
He thinks the world would be a better place if we could learn to live with uncertainty, understand what chance really means, and avoiding claiming that we know more than we actually do.
Could it help with real life?
Yes: Engaging in philosophical dialogue about issues like probability can make us better equipped to spot fake news, work our way through media hysteria, and understand what risks we face.
No: We do not need a lot of abstract philosophy to navigate our way through life. There is nothing to be learned from the philosophy of probability that you cannot pick up from normal mathematics.
Or... It is important for schoolchildren to have the chance to talk about the big issues facing them and the world. However, there can be no discussion without prior learning.
Trade union - An organisation of workers who band together to negotiate their wages and working conditions collectively, on grounds that this gives them more bargaining power.
Dialogue - Conversation.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau - An 18th Century Swiss philosopher whose book Reveries of the Solitary Walker extolled the virtues of being alone in nature.
Paulo Freire - A Brazilian philosopher and educator. He advocated critical pedagogy: the idea that teaching should encourage students to think about power structures and inequality.
Doyen - The most respected or important person in a particular field.
Delirium - A disturbed state of mind, with symptoms such as hallucinations and confusion.
Put philosophy on syllabus says union

Glossary
Trade union - An organisation of workers who band together to negotiate their wages and working conditions collectively, on grounds that this gives them more bargaining power.
Dialogue - Conversation.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau - An 18th Century Swiss philosopher whose book Reveries of the Solitary Walker extolled the virtues of being alone in nature.
Paulo Freire - A Brazilian philosopher and educator. He advocated critical pedagogy: the idea that teaching should encourage students to think about power structures and inequality.
Doyen - The most respected or important person in a particular field.
Delirium - A disturbed state of mind, with symptoms such as hallucinations and confusion.