Association  Internationale  des  Professeurs  de  Philosophie  

(enregistrée  à  Bruxelles,  AISBL  0414559489)  
www.aipph.eu  
 
 
 
UNESCO and philosophy teaching 1  
 
by prof. Herman Lodewyckx, president of the AIPPh.  
 
Esperanto  Congress  in  Oostende,  July  2015  
 
 
In  this  contribution,  I  will  present  the  important  texts  of  UNESCO  concerning  the  teaching  of  philoso-­‐
phy  because  I  find  myself  in  front  of  colleagues  across  the  world  which  forms  precisely  the  forum  
referred  by  UNESCO.  After  the  presentation  of  these  texts,  I  will  present  some  possibilities  for  a  more  
concrete  philosophical  teaching,  drawn  from  my  experience  as  a  member  and  the  president  of  the  
International  Association  of  Philosophy  Teachers.  
   
We  can  not  say  better  how  philosophy  and  UNESCO  are  connected  than  by  the  introduction  found  on  
its  own  website:  

There can be no UNESCO without philosophy

UNESCO  (United  Nations  Educational,  Scientific  and  Cultural  Organization  )  has  always  been  closely  
linked  to  philosophy,  not  speculative  or  normative  philosophy,  but  critical  questioning  which  enables  it  
to  give  meaning  to  life  and  action  in  the  international  context.    

UNESCO  was  born  (in  1945,  shortly  after  the  disaster  of  the  Second  World  War) from  a  questioning  
process  on  the  possibility  of  and  necessary  conditions  for  the  establishment  of  long-­‐term  peace  and  
security  in  the  world.  It  is  therefore  an  institutional  response  to  a  philosophical  question,  one  that  had  
already  been  asked  by  the  Abbé  de  Saint-­‐Pierre  and  Emmanuel  Kant.  

And,  one  could  also  declare  that  it  is  a  philosophical  institution,  since  it  intends  to  contribute  to  main-­‐
taining  peace  and  security  by  heightening  collaboration  between  nations  through  education,  science  
and  culture  in  order  to  ensure  the  universal  respect  of  justice,  of  the  law,  of  human  rights  and  funda-­‐
mental  liberties  for  all,  regardless  of  race,  gender,  language  or  religion,  that  is  recognized  for  all  people  
in  the  Charter  of  the  United  Nations.  This  end  goal  involves  the  recognition  and  implementation  of  a  
certain  philosophy  of  law,  of  human  rights  and  of  universal  history  through  means  that  are  also  philo-­‐
sophical.    

But  it  is  better  to  say  that  UNESCO  does  not  have  a  philosophy  in  the  literal  sense  of  the  word  since  it  
wants  to  be  a  privileged  place  for  exchange  and  dialogue  on  the  pluralism  of  experiences  of  thought  
and  of  world  cultures.    

One  could  then  state  instead  that  UNESCO  is  a  philosophy.  And  it  is  possible  to  tell  the  story  of  this  phi-­‐
losophy.    

Patrice  Vermeren,  co-­‐founder  of  the  International  College  of  Philosophy,  CNRS  researcher  and  ex-­‐
pert  with  the  Division  of  Philosophy  of  UNESCO,  described  the  long  history  of  this  link  in  a  document  

1
You  may find all documents related to UNESCO and the importance of philosophy on the website
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/philosophy/ both in french and English.    
1
 2

2
"Philosophie  saisie  par  l’UNESCO  "in  2003  .  
 
He  takes  the  quote  from  René  Maheu,  Director  General  of  UNESCO  which  states  that  "the  construc-­‐
tion  of  peace  is  a  philosophal  profession,  and  that  the  technicity  of    UNESCO  is  an  eminently  technical  
philosophical  action  because  this  action  is  essentially  becoming  aware  of  the  universal  human  in  
comprehension  and  in  extension"  (1968).  And  the  French  philosopher  Jacques  Derrida  points  out  that  
the  concepts-­‐self  of  the  UNESCO  Charter  are  philosophical  concepts.  
 
Very  early  on,  UNESCO  had  already  presented  a  "Memorandum  on  the  UNESCO  program  in  philoso-­‐
phy"  in  1946  which  led  to  the  establishment  of  a  High  Council  of  the  International  Philosophy  and  
Human  Sciences  (ICPHS)  that  will  evolve  to  a  department  or  a  division  under  the  supervision  of  the  
General  Directorate  in  2000.  This  department  always  invited  eminent  representatives  "to  think  the  
major  contemporary  global  issues,  to  promote  the  dissemination  and  understanding  of  major  philo-­‐
sophical  works,  not  only  books,  but  also  audio-­‐visual  and  information  technology  to  support  the  phil-­‐
osophical  education  as  a  vehicle  for  learning  critical  judgement  and  freedom  that  leads  to  the  en-­‐
counter  of  the  universal  and  of  citizen  responsibility  building  a  globalization  with  a  human  face.  "(p.  
16)  
 
In  the  1946  memory,  UNESCO  has  two  goals:  
 
1.  Put  on  adequate  international  instruments  for  the  advancement  of  philosophical  studies;  
2.    Put  philosophy  at  the  service  of  the  international  education  of  people.  
 
It  is  therefore  important  to  emphasize  here  that  the  vision  of  UNESCO  in  1946,  on  the  field  of  philos-­‐
ophy  is  prophetic  and  critical,  since  -­‐  especially  in  Europe  -­‐  philosophy  was  only  recognized  as  an  
essentially  European  discipline  or  Western  if  you  will,  with  fairly  recent  statements  by  the  German  
philosopher  Martin  Heidegger,  who  claimed  that  philosophy  can  only  be  Greek  or  German  ...  any  
other  philosophy,  could  only  be  a  philosophy  in  a  broad  sense  or  in  a  popular  sense3.  
 
Practically,  UNESCO  wishes    
 
1.  To  promote  internationally  philosophical  studies,  supporting,  stimulating  and  coordinating  
the  activities  of  philosophical  societies,  universities,  publishers  arousing  or  encouraging  meet-­‐
ings  between  philosophers  of  the  world;  optimizing  contacts  between  philosophers;  by  under-­‐
taking  or  encouraging  international  publications;  promoting  international  exchanges  of  facul-­‐
ty  and  students;  ...  
 
2.    To  give  a  role  to  philosophy  in  forming  public  opinion  in  defining  human  rights  and  particu-­‐
larly  of  the  individual  in  the  modern  world,  studying  the  present  state  of  civilization  and  the  
uncertainties  of  modern  consciousness,  and  the  solutions  to  them,  disseminating  publications  
on  these  subjects  and  participating  in  the  training  of  primary  school  teachers.  
 
From  early  on  UNESCO  successfully  invited  philosophers  from  cultures  and  different  parts  of  the  
world  to  reflect  on  these  goals  and  objectives.  It  was  soon  found  that  one  should  not  agree  to  specu-­‐
lative  or  theoretical  level,  but  on  a  practical  level  where  all  can  gather  around  shared  values,  despite  
the  philosophical  and  cultural  differences.  

2
 http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001327/132733f.pdf  (Only  in  French)
3
It’s  interesting  to  see  that  UNESCO  published  recently  a  Philosophy  manual  South-­‐South  on  the  occasion  of  
the  World  Philosophy  Day  of  2014:  http://en.unesco.org/events/world-­‐philosophy-­‐day-­‐2014-­‐launch-­‐
%E2%80%9Cphilosophy-­‐manual-­‐south-­‐south-­‐perspective%E2%80%9D  and:  
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002284/228411E.pdf
 3

 
In 1995, the famous "Paris Declaration for Philosophy" was born  (p.  116)4:    
 
PARIS  DECLARATION  FOR  PHILOSOPHY  
We,  the  participants  in  the  International  Study  Days  on  “Philosophy  and  Democracy  in  the  
World”  organized  by  UNESCO  in  Paris  on  15  and  16  February  1995,  
Note  that  the  problems  with  which  philosophy  deals  are  the  universal  problems  of  human  life  
and  existence;  
Believe  that  philosophical  reflection  can  and  should  contribute  to  the  understanding  and  con-­‐
duct  of  human  affairs;  
Consider  that  the  practice  of  philosophy,  which  does  not  exclude  any  idea  from  free  discus-­‐
sion  and  which  endeavours  to  establish  the  exact  definition  of  concepts  used,  to  verify  the  va-­‐
lidity  of  lines  of  reasoning  and  to  scrutinize  closely  the  arguments  of  others,  enables  each  in-­‐
dividual  to  learn  to  think  independently;  
Emphasize  that  philosophy  teaching  encourages  open-­‐mindedness,  civic  responsibility,  under-­‐
standing  and  tolerance  among  individuals  and  groups;  
Reaffirm  that  philosophy  education,  by  training  independently  minded,  thoughtful  people,  
capable  of  resisting  various  forms  of  propaganda,  prepares  everyone  to  shoulder  their  re-­‐
sponsibilities  in  regard  to  the  great  questions  of  the  contemporary  world,  particularly  in  the  
field  of  ethics;  
Confirm  that  the  development  of  philosophical  debate  in  education  and  in  cultural  life  makes  
a  major  contribution  to  the  training  of  citizens,  by  exercising  their  capacity  for  judgment,  
which  is  fundamental  in  any  democracy.  
Committing  ourselves  to  do  everything  in  our  power  in  our  institutions  and  in  our  respective  
countries  to  achieve  these  objectives,    
We  therefore  declare  that:  
All  individuals  everywhere  should  be  entitled  to  engage  in  the  free  pursuit  of  philosophy  in  all  
its  forms  and  all  places  where  it  may  be  practised;  
Philosophy  teaching  should  be  maintained  or  expanded  where  it  exists,  introduced  where  it  
does  not  yet  exist,  and  designated  explicitly  as  “philosophy”;  
Philosophy  teaching  should  be  provided  by  qualified  teachers,  specially  trained  for  that  pur-­‐
pose,  and  should  not  be  subordinated  to  any  overriding  economic,  technical,  religious,  politi-­‐
cal  or  ideological  requirements;  
While  remaining  independent,  philosophy  teaching  should  wherever  possible  be  effectively  
linked  to  academic  or  vocational  training  in  all  fields;  
The  distribution  of  books  which  are  accessible  both  in  language  and  in  sales  price  to  a  wide  
readership,  the  production  of  radio  and  television  programmes,  audio  and  video-­‐cassettes,  
the  use  for  educational  purposes  of  all  forms  of  audio-­‐visual  and  informational  technology,  
the  creation  of  multiple  opportunities  for  free  discussion,  and  all  types  of  initiative  likely  to  
provide  the  largest  possible  number  of  people  with  a  grounding  in  philosophical  issues  and  
methods  should  be  encouraged  with  a  view  to  providing  philosophy  education  for  adults;  
Knowledge  of  philosophical  insight  in  different  cultures,  comparison  of  what  each  has  to  offer,  
analyses  of  what  brings  them  closer  together  and  what  separates  them,  should  be  pursued  
and  supported  by  research  and  teaching  institutions;  
Philosophy  as  the  free  pursuit  of  inquiry,  cannot  consider  any  truth  to  be  final,  and  encour-­‐
ages  respect  for  the  convictions  of  the  individual  but  should  in  no  circumstances,  at  the  risk  of  
denying  its  own  nature,  accept  doctrines  which  deny  the  liberty  of  others,  affront  human  dig-­‐
nity  and  sow  the  seeds  of  barbarity.  
 
This  declaration  was  adopted  by:  

4
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001386/138673e.pdf : see annex II
 4

Professor  Ruben  G.  Apressian  (Moscow  Academy  of  Sciences  Institute  of  Philosophy,  Russian  
Federation),  Professor  Tanella  Boni-­‐Kone  (University  of  Abidjan,  Côte  d’Ivoire),  Professor  
Tzotcho  Boyadjiev  (University  of  Saint  Clement  Ohrid,  Sofia,  Bulgaria),  Professor  In-­‐Suk  Cha  
(Secretary-­‐General  of  the  National  Commission  for  UNESCO  of  the  Republic  of  Korea,  Seoul,  
Republic  of  Korea),  Professor  Marilena  Chaui  (University  of  São  Paulo,  Brazil),  Professor  Don-­‐
ald  Davidson  (University  of  Berkeley,  United  States  of  America),  Professor  Souleymane  Bachir  
Diagne  (University  of  Dakar,  Senegal),  Professor  François  Dossou  (National  University  of  Be-­‐
nin,  Cotonou,  Benin),  Professor  Michael  Dummett  (Oxford,  United  Kingdom),  Professor  Artan  
Fuga  (University  of  Tirana,  Albania),  Professor  Humberto  Giannini  (University  of  Santiago  de  
Chile,  Chile),  Professor  Paulin  J.  Hountondji  (National  University  of  Benin,  Cotonou,  Benin),  
Professor  Ioanna  Kuçuradi  (Secretary-­‐General  of  the  International  Federation  of  the  Societies  
of  Philosophy,  Ankara,  Turkey),  Professor  Dominique  Lecourt  (University  of  Paris  VII,  Paris,  
France),  Professor  Nelly  Motroshilova  (University  of  Moscow,  Russian  Federation),  Professor  
Satchidananda  Murty  (Vice-­‐President  of  the  International  Federation  of  the  Societies  of  Phi-­‐
losophy,  India),  Professor  Ulrich  Johannes  Schneider  (University  of  Leipzig,  Germany),  Profes-­‐
sor  Peter  Serracino  Inglott  (Rector  of  the  University  of  Malta),  H.E.  Mohammed  Allal  Sinaceur  
(Former  Director  of  the  Division  of  Philosophy  of  UNESCO,  Rabat,  Morocco),  Professor  Richard  
Shusterman  (Temple  University,  Philadelphia,  United  States  of  America),  Professor  Fathi  Triki  
(Dean  of  the  Faculty  of  Literature  and  Social  Sciences  of  Sfax,  Tunisia),  Professor  Susana  Vil-­‐
lavicencio  (University  of  Buenos  Aires,  Argentina).  
 
A  few  notes  on  this:  
 
1.  In  1996,  this  statement  was  taken  as  the  starting  point  for  an  investigation  into  the  teach-­‐
ing  of  philosophy  in  Flanders  with  the  various  institutions  of  education,  to  know  their  point  of  
view  considering  this  declaration.  It  was  an  important  topic  at  the  International  Congress  of  
our  International  Association  of  Philosophy  Teachers  and  was  the  basis  of  a  resolution  in  the  
Flemish  Parliament  in  2002  on  the  part  of  all  democratic  parties  represented,  to  introduce  
more  philosophical  teaching  in  our  schools.  
 
2.  Take  notice  of  the  representatives  from  all  continents,  including  some  African  philosophers  
who  play  an  important  role  in  the  promotion  of  philosophy  in  Africa.  
 
3.  The  Paris  Declaration  is  a  direct  link  between  philosophy  and  democracy.  
 
This  last  remark  is  not  without  importance  in  current  debates  in  several  countries  where  the  issue  of  
preparing  young  people  for  life  in  society  poses  significant  problems.  What  teaching  is  needed  to  
prepare  young  people  for  their  entry  into  society.  In  some  countries  it's  the  role  of  teaching  religion.  
Sometimes  it  a  choice  between  a  compulsory  religion  course  or  an  ethical  one.  In  other  countries,  
there  is  an  alternative:  an  introductory  course  in  “philosophy,  religion  and  citizenship”.  But  there  are  
discussions  on  introducing  more  courses  called  ‘useful’  than  “non-­‐useful”  courses:  more  mathemat-­‐
ics,  computer  science,  economics,  civil  rights,  ...  Training  'philosophical'  or  religious  needs  to  be  a  
free  choice  of  parents  or  students,  and  should  not  be  subsidized  by  the  state.  
 
This  is  not  the  choice  of  UNESCO.  
 
In  1951-­‐1952,  a  first  international  survey  on  the  teaching  of  philosophy.  The  report  is  accompanied  
by  a  joint  statement  by  experts  "who  state  that  the  teaching  of  philosophy  where  this  exists,  it  re-­‐
flects  the  importance  that  these  societies  provide  to  philosophical  thought  as  indispensable  to  the  
awareness  of  the  fundamental  problems  of  science  and  culture,  and  hence  the  orientation  of  the  atti-­‐
tude  based  on  a  free  and  personal  reflection  on  the  values  of  the  human  condition.  And  therefore  we  
must  maintain,  preserve  and  develop  this  teaching  where  it  exists,  and  create  it  where  it  does  not  
 5

exist  in  the  world. "  (p.125)  

 
In  1994,  Roger-­‐Pol  Droit,  resumes,  updates  and  amplifies  the  1951  survey  and  published  it  in  a  pa-­‐
perback  edition  "Democracy  and  philosophy  in  the  world,"  Paris,  1995.    
 
International  study  days  are  organized  in  Paris  (15-­‐16  February  1995),  which  reaffirmed  (p.  127):  
 
1)  The  importance  of  philosophical  education  in  the  training  of  citizens  and  the  need  for  its  
development  in  the  various  regions  of  the  world  for  so  far  that  human  reason  is  one,  
 
2)  The  promotion  of  philosophy  teaching  in  using  both  the  book,  distance  learingn,  audiovisu-­‐
al  and  computer  facilities,  
 
3)  To  facilitate  the  access  of  philosophical  institutions  in  the  less  favoured  countries  to  the  
global  electronic  networks.  

In  the  following  years,  initiatives  were  taken  after  this  publication,  including  the  introduction  of  ini-­‐
tiatives  known  as  "philosophizing  with  children  and  young  people."  
 
I  pass  here  the  initiatives  taken  by  UNESCO:  the  founding  of  UNESCO  Chairs  of  Philosophy  in  different  
regions  of  the  world,  the  Philosophical  Encounters,  and  finally  the  World  Philosophy  Day  since  2005  
where  all  the  philosophical  communities  of  all  countries  of  the  world  can  participate  in  organizing  
'philosophical'  activities  the  third  Thursday  of  November:  a  day  of  collective  exercise  of  freedom  of  
thought,  reasoning  and  information  about  the  challenges  of  our  time,  by  organizing  various  activities  
such  as:  dialogues,  lectures,  discussions,  workshops,  cultural  events  ,  presentations,  ...  
 
An  important  publication  (!  300  pg)  was  created  in  2007  under  the  leadership  of  Ms.  Moufida  Gou-­‐
cha,  head  of  the  Human  section,  Democracy  and  Philosophy  and  experts  Michel  Tozzi,  Luca  Scaranti-­‐
no,  Oscar  Brenifier  and  Pascal  Cristofoli  and:  Philosophy:  a  School  of  Freedom.  Teaching  philosophy  
5
and  learning  to  philosophize.  Status  and  Prospects.        

Experts  describe  the  different  levels  of  philosophy  education  and  learning  of  philosophy  in  preschool,  
primary,  secondary,  higher  and  even  of  philosophy  in  the  city.  They  investigate  the  possibilities  and  
constraints  of  different  forms  and  methods  of  philosophical  teaching.  A  real  treasure  of  knowledge.

Even  more  remarkable  is  the  effort  that  was  made  to  present  this  document  to  representatives  and  
experts  in  regional  meetings  that  cover  almost  all  the  world  between  2009  and  2011:  the  Arab  re-­‐
gion;  the  Asia  Pacific;  Latin  America  and  the  Caribbean;  Africa  and  Europe  and  North  America.  The  
aim  was  twofold:  

•Discuss  the  status  of  the  teaching  of  philosophy  in  different  countries  of  the  region  and  the  
challenges;  
 
•  Make  recommendations  to  the  attention  of  relevant  stakeholders,  especially  the  authorities  
in  charge  of  education  to  include  philosophy  in  the  curriculum  where  it  is  not  present  and  to  
strengthen  and  improve  its  teaching  where  it  is.

At  each  meeting  the  working  papers  on  the  specificities  and  challenges  related  to  the  teaching  of  
philosophy  in  the  regions  were  discussed.  Regional  publications  were  produced  by  UNESCO,  relating  

5
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0015/001541/154173e.pdf
 6

to  the  issues  and  the  challenges  discussed  at  each  meeting,  and  containing  regional  recommenda-­‐
tions.  These  publications  can  be  downloaded  and  show  us  the  diversity  in  the  teaching  of  philoso-­‐
phy6.  

What  can  be  inferred  from  those  ‘unesquian’  documents  7  ?  But  also  different  philosophical  teach  
ments.  Let  us  make  some  reflections.    

1. We  must  distinguish  ‘philosophical  teaching’  from  ‘philosophy  teaching’.  Despite  the  insist-­‐
ence  of  UNESCO  (and  many  others)  to  introduce  the  teaching  of  philosophy  as  a  discipline,  
some  people  (representatives  of  the  organization  of  free  education  authorities  or  state),  re-­‐
fuse  outright  teaching  of  philosophy  as  discipline  in  itself,  since  it  takes  a  certain  maturity  for  
'doing  philosophy'.  In  the  best  cases,  they  agree  that  there  is  some  need  for  a  ‘philosophical  
teaching  ',  that  is  to  say,  that  in  all  subjects  there  may  be  some  'philosophical'  questions  
raised  by  students  that  can  be  a  little  embarrassment  for  the  teacher.  They  then  say  that  the  
teacher  must  be  able  to  glimpse  the  philosophical  level  of  the  issues  raised.  Simply  s/he  
should  stop  for  a  moment  to  allow  time  for  a  few  moments  of  'philosophical'  reflection  or  
s/he  passes  the  question  to  her/his  "colleague-­‐expert"  on  the  subject,  the  professor  of  'reli-­‐
gion'  or  ethics.  A  big  problem  is  raised  by  the  fact  that  many  teachers  are  not  prepared  to  
philosophical  dialogues  with  their  students  during  their  training,  and  that  the  time  to  finish  
the  course  in  time  is  terribly  short,  both  in  natural  science  courses  than  in  the  courses  of  hu-­‐
man  sciences  or  languages.  
 
2. An  error  is  made  in  thinking  that  a  philosophy  course  is  too  'heavy'  for  young  people.  This  is  
true  if  one  has  a  residue  of  a  university  course  as  a  course  for  students  in  high  school.  But  it  is  
also  true  for  other  courses.  Any  good  teacher  must  consider  the  psychological  age  of  his  stu-­‐
dents.  It  does  not  address  the  Kantian  texts  with  the  young  age  of  12,  although  the  theme  of  
Kant:  What  can  I  know?  What  should  be  done?  What  can  I  expect?  What  is  man?  raises  as  
many  questions  among  young  as  among  all  older  people.  Interesting  about  this  is  the  philo-­‐
sophical  curriculum  in  the  German  country  Schleswig-­‐Holstein,  which  has  precisely  the  phi-­‐
losophy  courses  from  primary  school  to  secondary  oriented  around  these  four  fundamental  
issues  of  Kant.8  

3. What  to  do  then?  I  repeat  here  the  suggestions  of  Michel  Tozzi  in  the  Milan  Report  of  the  re-­‐
gional  UNESCO  meeting  for  the  American  and  European  Region  in  2011,  p.  199  :    

 
Advantages  and  challenges  of  philosophy  for  children  
 
1)  Thinking  for  oneself  
As  it  concerns  existential,  ethical  and  aesthetic  questions,  thinking  for  oneself  presupposes  a  
thought  process  that  formulates  problems,  concepts  and  rational  arguments.  Beginning  this  
learning  process  as  early  as  possible  will  encourage  children  to  think  meaningfully  and  profit-­‐
ably  about  the  human  condition.  

6
http://www.unesco.org/new/fr/social-­‐and-­‐human-­‐sciences/themes/philosophy/philosophy-­‐teaching/
7
It  was  Jeanne  Hersch  who  introduced  this  term  to  talk  about  the  particular  style  (sometimes  a  little  fuzzy  or  
ambiguous)  in  texts  of  UNESCO  for  the  diplomatic  character  to  represent  different  countries  and  people.
8
http://www.lehrplan.lernnetz.de/index.php : Here  you  find  also  some  English  versions  of  the  philosophy  curri-­‐
culum.    
9
 http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002140/214089e.pdf    
 7

2)  Educating  for  reflective  citizenship  

Learning  to  think  for  oneself  develops  freedom  of  judgement  in  future  citizens,  protecting  
them  from  ideological  indoctrination  and  persuasive  advertising.  Learning  to  philosophize  
through  the  discussion  of  ideas  encourages  rational  confrontations  with  others  in  the  quest  
for  truth,  an  ethical  and  intellectual  prerequisite  for  genuine  democratic  debate.  
 
3)  Helping  the  child’s  development  
Learning  how  to  think  reflectively  is  crucial  to  the  construction  of  a  child’s  or  an  adolescent’s  
personality.  It  is  an  opportunity  for  them  to  experience  that  they  are  thinking  beings;  and  this  
boosts  their  self-­‐esteem  and  helps  them  to  grow  as  human  beings  by  experiencing  disagree-­‐
ment  in  discussion  in  an  atmosphere  of  peaceful  coexistence,  which  raises  their  threshold  of  
tolerance  with  respect  to  others  and  averts  violence.  
 
4)  Facilitating  the  mastery  of  language  and  speech  
Verbalizing  in  order  to  think  develops  cognitive  and  sociolinguistic  capabilities.  By  working  on  
the  development  of  their  thought,  children  are  working  on  the  need  for  precision  in  lan-­‐
guage.  
 
5)  Conceptualizing  the  philosophizing  
The  practice  of  getting  children  to  think  reflectively  calls  for  a  redefinition  of  philosophizing  
and  a  conceptualization  of  how  it  is  induced,  what  it  consists  of  and  its  conditions.  
 
6)  Developing  a  theory  of  teaching  philosophy  to  children  and  adolescents  
Theories  about  teaching  philosophy  also  become  an  issue.  Children  cannot  be  taught  philos-­‐
ophy  in  big  lecture  theatres,  through  major  works  or  essay  writing.  But  teaching  methods  can  
be  devised  that  enable  them  to  think  reflectively  about  their  relationship  to  the  world,  to  
others  and  to  themselves,  providing  these  methods  are  adapted  to  their  age  group.  
 
4. In  discussions  whether  to  introduce  a  philosophy  course  or  course  ‘Ethics,  Religion  and  Phi-­‐
losophy’,  people  uses  the  term  'philosophy'  in  various  meanings.  They  do  not  differentiate  
between  'philosophy'  as  a  worldview  and  a  ‘philosophizing'  philosophy  '  that  can  take  each  
topic  as  the  subject  of  these  reflections.  A  theme  that  interests  you,  as  teachers  here  present  
at  the  international  Esperanto-­‐Congress  most  particularly  must  be  the  question  if  definitely  a  
universal  language  like  Esperanto  is  desirable  in  an  increasingly  globalized  world?  Should  we  
follow  the  majority  (Chinese?)  The  most  common  language  (English?)  Or  a  'neutral'  language,  
above  political  embroilment  and  therefore  be  Esperanto?  We  discussed  this  at  our  last  con-­‐
gress  of  the  AIPPh  in  Bonn  ...  
 
5. Often  the  discussions  among  the  professors  (or  the  national  authorities)  of  philosophy  are  
between  the  choice  of  a  course  of  historical  philosophical  texts  or  a  course  with  philosophical  
concepts.  At  the  meeting  in  Milan,  they  found  a  certain  consensus  that  it  is  important,  as  
noted  Mr.  Tozzi,  that  philosophy  is  first  a  question  of  language:  to  learn  how  to  formulate  a  
philosophical  question  (which  is  different  from  a  non-­‐philosophical  question):  "What  time  is  
it?"  is  different  from  the  question  "what  is  time"?  How  to  find  words  that  become  concepts.  
How  to  'read'  a  philosophical  text  that  differs  significantly  of  a  legal  text,  journalistic,  poetic,  
scientific  one?  It  is  also  a  matter  of  apperception:  The  Gestalt-­‐psychology  teaches  us  to  dis-­‐
trust  our  senses.  If  the  student  is  older,  he  can  find  the  link  of  this  sensorial  mistrust  with  the  
methodical  doubt  of  Descartes:  if  you  doubt  about  everything,  of  what  can  we  be  sure?  From  
texts  you  can  return  to  the  experiences,  but  from  experiences  you  can  return  to  texts  that  
 8

can  shed  a  clarifying  light  on  the  experience.  

 
6. Sometimes  a  final  question  arises:  what  to  do  at  the  final  exam?  It's  fine  to  say  that  philoso-­‐
phy  is  an  education  for  learning  to  think  for  oneself,  but  is  it  that  students  may  write  any-­‐
thing  for  the  exam?  Yes  and  no.  Yes,  since  the  Universal  Declaration  defend  the  personal  
opinion.  Whether  s/he  is  for  or  against  an  idea  or  opinion,  cannot  be  the  determining  point  
of  the  judgment  of  the  philosophy  professor.  In  democracy,  the  truth  is  not  always  an  objec-­‐
tive  one  (not  even  in  the  so-­‐called  ‘positive’  sciences).  No,  since  a  student  must  prove  or  
demonstrate  that  s/he  has  learned  something  during  the  course:  to  listen,  criticize,  defend  
statements,  opinions  of  other  authors  ...  by  arguments  and  logical  reasoning.  So  this  intro-­‐
duces  ethical  notions  in  a  philosophy  course  (respect  for  the  other  despite  dissent),  logic  no-­‐
tions  (good  and  false  reasoning),    but  also  aesthetic  ones  (saying  'good'  may  also  meaning  '  
beautiful'  or  ‘nice’,  which  introduces  us  to  the  question  of  rhetoric).  
 
7. Finally:  philosophizing  is  not  the  preserve  of  philosophy  professors.  It  may  be  the  pleasure  of  
everyone  who  wants  to  get  out  of  rhetoric,  demagoguery,  advertising  slogans,  to  find  a  world  
of  reflection,  understanding,  relativity  or  even  relaxation.  Or  it  is  like  the  title  of  a  book  by  
the  English  philosopher,  Gary  Cox  :  How  to  be  a  philosopher  or  How  to  be  almost  certain  that  
almost  nothing  is  certain  (2010).  
 

Herman  LODEWYCKX  
Oostende  (Be),  23th  of  July,  2015  
This  texts  exists  in  French  and  Esperanto