Why teach philosophy in schools? Widening the case

The need for philosophy provision in schools has never been more urgent, and Gatley offers a rigorous and compelling argument for how philosophy is best placed to examine both ordinary concepts and conceptual challenges arising from a broad theoretical curriculum. In this response Hobbs explores what might happen if Gatley’s two criteria were applied not only to individual arguments—as Gatley does with aplomb—but also to the package of potential benefits that philosophy can offer as a whole. She suggests that widening the scope of enquiry in this way allows us to place more emphasis than Gatley’s framework permits on the creative as well the analytic and critical skills that philosophy can foster.  This widening of the scope reveals with even greater clarity the central role that philosophy can play in both individual and communal flourishing.