The importance of 'importance'

 A crucial question in philosophising with young people is: 'Should adults bring issues they regard as important to students for consideration?' I believe they should but refrain from manipulating the outcomes of enquiry or striving for a consensus they regard as desirable. This notion of importance is central and unavoidable when philosophising with children. The philosopher, Dorothy Emmet, explained the importance of 'importance' as follows:

Without some judgement of 'importance' we are presented with mere multiplicity of detail or, at best, a dead level of facts. A judgement of what is important brings form into a multiplicity, whether in presenting an intellectual theme or in the practical conduct of life. There is, of course, always the danger that it may impose preconditions; but a preconception can at least sustain interest and later be corrected, whereas a mere manifold of undigested matter of fact can tell us nothing. (Dorothy Emmet, The Nature of Metaphysical Thinking 1966, p.196)

Reciprocal exchanges between adults and young people about what is important are possible and should be encouraged. I think this process is under-represented in the literature of philosophising with children and perhaps also in practice. Much has been written about the selection of starting points for enquiry and the creation and selection of questions.

However, relatively little attention has been paid to a very simple idea: sitting down with young people and asking: What is important to you at the moment? What excites your imaginations? What makes you angry or hopeful? The teacher would then help put together a programme of enquiries and events to explore those concerns and seek out philosophical dimensions in the topics to be discussed.

I think, also, that young people would expect their teachers to put topics on the philosophical agenda and give reasons for doing so. In an age of climate change, pandemics and obvious injustices around the world, I think children will welcome such an on-going dialogue. That is not to say that all philosophical initiatives in schools should be initiated using this strategy, only that such an approach would play a significant role within the overall practice. Enlightenment without manipulation could be taken as a regulative ideal – a goal that may never be achieved in every respect but that regulates practice. That is because enlightenment, taken to be a broadening of experience and an enhancement of capacities, is a worthy aim.