On Sunday, 16 April 2017, I sent a letter to The Straits Times Forum page for hopeful publication. By Friday, 21 April 2017, the letter had still not been published. Here is the letter:
I refer to the recent
discussion on teaching philosophy in schools (Philosophy focus can come in
handy, April 2; Think carefully about philosophy in schools, April 13; Wrong to
dismiss philosophy as ‘armchair reasoning’, April 15).
Everyone runs, sings and
writes; but only some are runners, singers and writers. In the same way,
everyone thinks – but training makes the thinking better. The only discipline
that explicitly teaches the art and science of rational and rigorous thought is
philosophy, specifically the branch called logic.
If we want our students (and
adults) to develop the skill to think rationally and rigorously, one excellent
way is to expose them to some logic. The default is that people learn to think
by imitating everyone around them. They adopt the good and bad habits – with no
inkling of the difference.
The first benefit of studying
philosophy is learning to think rationally and rigorously.
Philosophy is unique in being
characterised by dispute. Hardly any two philosophers completely agree in what
they think to be true. Yet when one reads the classic philosophers, one finds their
arguments utterly persuasive – though leading to utterly contradictory
conclusions.
Several benefits arise from
this experience. One becomes less dismissive of views unlike one’s accustomed
or favoured view, more aware of subtleties and nuances in the issues discussed,
and more aware that one could be wrong.
Many (perhaps most)
controversial issues today are ethical issues. Should robots (when they gain
rationality) be accorded rights? Should the autonomous car be programmed to
crash into the lamp post or the jaywalkers? Should we allow people to openly
carry guns?
Philosophy is the only
discipline that explicitly discusses how to rationally and rigorously think
about such questions – in the branch called ethics or moral philosophy. (The
ethics modules in other disciplines tend to acquaint students with ethical
decisions that have been made by either the law or the relevant regulatory
body.)
There are thus many benefits
in studying philosophy. The next question is: Is school time a good time to
expose people to philosophy?
If students are not exposed
to rational, rigorous and diverse thought about controversial topics, they will
osmotically absorb the ideas they find around them – whatever the quality or
truth. That cannot be a better alternative.
But here is a cautionary
note.
Socrates, the father of
western philosophy, was sentenced to death in 399 BC – for “corrupting the
minds of the young”.
END
