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 says it is wrong that schoolchildren are expected to spend all their time working within the rigid curriculumThe subjects studied at school or during a course. , leaving them little space to discuss important issues.

He believes teachers should be encouraged to enter into a philosophical dialogue 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

He believed this model really served to make children suppress their own thoughts and creativity in order to adjust to the world as it is, taking away their ability to dream of a better one.

Rather than a one-way process, where the teacher drips information into the brains of a roomful of passive students, 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

He cites the example of President John F KennedyPresident of the US from 1961 to 1963, when he was shot dead in Dallas. He was the fourth American president to be assassinated; Abraham Lincoln was the first., who in 1961 was briefed that an invasion of CubaAn island country between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. had a "fair chance" of success. He interpreted this to mean it would likely succeed. "Fair chance" turned out to have meant "little chance". The result was the disastrous Bay of PigsIn 1961, 1,500 Cubans who had fled Castro's rule tried to seize power on the island, with covert US backing. Their attempt failed and it caused a political crisis in the USA., which humiliated the US.

But 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 delirium. 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.

Curriculum - The subjects studied at school or during a course.

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.

John F Kennedy - President of the US from 1961 to 1963, when he was shot dead in Dallas. He was the fourth American president to be assassinated; Abraham Lincoln was the first.

Cuba - An island country between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

Bay of Pigs - In 1961, 1,500 Cubans who had fled Castro's rule tried to seize power on the island, with covert US backing. Their attempt failed and it caused a political crisis in the USA.