Teaching philosophy and cultivating intelligence. A second look at Critical Thinking and Indoctrination

La enseñanza de la filosofía y el cultivo de la inteligencia. Una segunda mirada al Sentido Crítico y al Adoctrinamiento

José Antonio Ibáñez-Martín, Universidad Internacional de la Rioja, España

DOI

10.22550/REP79-1-2021-11

Abstract

Thinking demands an effort that many people avoid. Teaching philosophy is an especially valuable tool for cultivating intelligence. The teacher’s action demands a difficult balance between caring for the development of the student while respecting the condition as a person that is inherent to her. This equilibrium is easier to achieve if one has an accurate idea of the meaning of the critical sense and of the importance of avoiding indoctrinatory behaviour. This article offers new approaches to these topics that differ from those proposed in previous years.

It defends the idea of also relating critical sense to insight and an expanded reason, and it draws attention to the importance of uncovering the indoctrinating activities of some states, in order that we might know how to struggle against not just personal errors but also against mistaken public initiatives, identifying the strategies teachers, and in particular philosophy teachers, should foster to prevent their students from falling into the trap of indoctrination.

The article concludes with a brief description of an innovative curriculum that was approved in France in 2019 to offer teaching of philosophy in the baccalaureate.

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Author Biography

José Antonio Ibáñez Martín. The author started his teaching career in secondary education. He taught in several private schools and was awarded a secondary school chair in philosophy in 1964. He started working as a Teaching Fellow at the Universidad Complutense in 1968, where he completed his doctoral thesis and rose through the academic ranks, being awarded a university chair in philosophy of education in 1980. He was also part of the first governing body of the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia. He is currently a Professor and Vice-rector for doctoral studies at the Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR) and is Director of the revista española de pedagogía.

He has published over 150 works in five different languages, has participated in over 50 conferences, and has received numerous prizes. He was appointed Emeritus Professor at the Universidad Complutense in 2010 and in 2013 was awarded the Grand Cross of Alfonso X, the Wise, the highest decoration in Spain in the field of education, science, culture, teaching, and research.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1171-7117

Citación recomendada | Recommended citation

Ibáñez-Martín, J. A. (2021) . Teaching philosophy and cultivating intelligence. A second look at Critical Thinking and Indoctrination. Revista Española de Pedagogía, 79(278). https://doi.org/10.22550/REP79-1-2021-11