The revival of Philosophy

We must first learn to be.

I’ve very recently learned with great satisfaction that  all parliamentary groups have, at last, submitted a request to the Spanish Government in order for Philosophy to be given again the status it deserves within the educational curriculum.

More than a century ago Francisco Giner de los Rios brilliantly defined “education” as the ability to “master one’s own life”, as the ability to behave according to one’s own personal reflections rather than according to the dictates of somebody else. The capacity of thinking and creating. If people are “educated” to this end, the world will enter a new era. Individuals will be trained to be and to revolt. If we continue to favour “competitiveness and gregarisation”, current imbalances, sympathies and phobias, mass emotions, blind obstinacy and fanaticism will become even greater, because individuals will be trained to have and to be submissive. 

This splendid definition makes me think of Julian Marias who, in his work entitled “Reflection on a book of my own”, and 24 years after having completed it, explained the personal reasons that led him to go more deeply into philosophy, and for that purpose he quoted some verses by Goethe that Ortega y Gasset liked to repeat very often: “I must confess that I am of the lineage of those/ who seek to move from darkness to light”. In the epilogue of this book, Ortega y Gasset argued that the everlasting aim of philosophy should be to “find out”. There is indeed no better way to define the essence of philosophy than with the permanent desire to find out -which according to the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language means the following: “Searching for truth until we find it”.

In Article 1 of UNESCO’s Constitution the aim of the educational process is defined with great accuracy as follows: helping to train “free and responsible” individuals. Free individuals because, once released from all bonds and burdens, they will be able to move in the endless space of spirit. They will be free and, therefore, able to take action based on their own reflections, without any dogmatic bond. And they will be responsible because they shall not only take into account their own rights but also their duties towards “others”, whether they are close or distant people, peers or members of future generations... 

Education goes beyond training, beyond the acquisition of professional skills; it goes beyond knowledge and information (especially beyond news released by the media, because news is by its own nature focused on unusual, uncommon, extraordinary facts). 

Therefore, philosophy and arts are essential parts of this “core” education, beyond the mere transfer of techniques and methods that should always be taught “in addition to” and not “instead of”. José Saramago already warned us when he wrote: “Will we end having 100 technology and 0 thought?”

I remember that Juan Rof used to say -I heard him speak many times in the Human Sciences Institute- that “individual autonomy” is a prerequisite if you want to be “fully and unconditionally free”, without any constraint that may hinder our human endeavour, by virtue of the magistral formula of reflection and introspection... Individual autonomy can be obtained thanks to Philosophy which, according to the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language, “is the body of knowledge that seeks to establish -in a rational way- the general principles governing both our knowledge of reality and the meaning of human behaviour”.

There is no doubt: the transition from mere subjects to full citizens requires more Philosophy and more arts. Philosophy is a must if we want to be “free and responsible”, to fully exercise the unique capacities of human beings: thinking, imagining, foreseeing, innovating, creating! As recently stated by UNESCO Director-General, Audrey Azoulay, Philosophy is the only discipline that will allow us “to transform human societies”, to implement all the radical changes that the current worldwide situation urgently needs. Today it is essential and most urgent to promote Philosophy in all levels of education.  “Philosophy creates the intellectual conditions required by change, sustainable development and peace”, as highlighted by the Director-General who called upon all Member States “to take up this message, which resounds in the heart of UNESCO’s mandate”.

The unique capacity of human beings is creativity, the biological excess represented by the capacity to invent, to create. To enable freedom of action -which is the supreme gift of humanity- it is essential to awaken and develop in children this enormous potential which is exclusively found in human beings.

Apart from the freedom of expression, we need to have the capacity to express ourselves, to find the right words to accurately convey our own reflections. Words only exist if they are pronounced.  This is an essential task of any education which seeks to liberate human beings:  teach us how to think and how to duly express ourselves. This is a corner stone, an unparalleled lesson that will be useful during our whole life.

Finally, a consensus concerning the unquestionable prominence of Philosophy has been reached. This can be an excellent point of departure to further improve the educational process as a whole -which needs today to get much better.