Democratizing Philosophy - School for Life, Life for School - By Charles C. Verharen

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Marglet

Re-visioning education is central to meeting global threats such as climate change and weapons of mass destruction, because schooling often loses contact with philosophy and thereby with the people it serves. The paper examines relations between philosophy and science, using Nietzsche as a key guide while rejecting his elitism. It argues that philosophy can be infused into all other subjects and considers whether teaching philosophy to all students is practical, linking democratized philosophy to stronger democracy and broader access to higher education.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Philosophy and science

Nietzsche and morality amid global threats

Democratizing philosophy and democracy

Connecting school to life and philosophy to school

Education as lost connection to learners

Infusing philosophy into the curriculum

Ancient Greek roots of "school" (leisure)

Wisdom, ethics, and the scope of philosophy

Democratizing Philosophy: School for Life, Life for School By Charles C. Verharen 􀀍 Re-visioning education is critical to developing new ways of thinking and acting in the face of global threats to life from global climate change and weapons of mass destruction. Like philosophy in Quine’s words, education is "losing contact with the people." Education suffers this loss in part because education has lost contact with philosophy. The paper first addresses the relations between philosophy and science. Nietzsche is a primary guide on this question. While his elitism must be dismissed, his apocalyptic vision of philosophy may help students become more deeply engaged in all levels of schooling. The paper’s second concern is whether philosophy can be infused into all other subjects. The conclusion considers whether it is practical to teach philosophy to all students. Schooling that democratizes philosophy can reveal that many more human beings are gifted than we could have imagined. W.E.B. Du Bois in fact argues that virtually all humans should receive higher education. A compelling reason to democratize philosophy is to further democracy itself. Keywords: Du Bois, education, historically black colleges and universities, Nietzsche, philosophy. Introduction Nietzsche in Beyond Good and Evil (1992, p. 402, Nietzsche’s emphasis) stresses the origins of morality in danger and the need for collective action in the face of danger: "Again danger is there, the mother of morals, great danger." Four existential crises confront the world: the sixth mass extinction, global climate change, weapons of mass destruction and the immiseration of billions in the Global South (Gardiner, 2011; Kolbert, 2014; Wilson, 2016). For the first time in our ~300,000 year history, humans may acquire the power to alter life globally. This danger calls for a new morality (Verharen et al., 2011). Nietzsche (ibid, p. 406) offers the promise that grave danger may stimulate the creation of a new morality: "The greater the danger is, the greater is the need to reach agreement quickly and easily about what must be done". Re-visioning education is critical to developing new ways of thinking and acting in the face of unprecedented dangers. Like philosophy in Quine’s (1972, p. 191) words, education is "losing contact with the people." Education suffers this loss in part because education has lost contact with philosophy. The paper’s first part shows how school may be connected to life and philosophy to school. My primary guide in the paper’s second part is Nietzsche. His apocalyptic vision of philosophy may help students become more deeply 􀀍Professor, Howard University, USA. [https://doi.org/10.30958/aje.7-2-1](https://doi.org/10.30958/aje.7-2-1) doi=10.30958/aje.7-2-1 engaged in all levels of schooling. Nietzsche argues that new creations in philosophy evolve out of grave dangers. A committed elitist, Nietzsche held that only a few select human beings could respond to those crises by creating new commanding values. With more than a century’s experience of democracy beyond Nietzsche’s, we can argue for a democratization of philosophy. On the verge of being able to disrupt in dramatic ways life on the planet, we need all the help we can get. The paper’s third part shows how philosophy can be infused into all other subjects in an education powerful enough to address our contemporary dangers. The conclusion considers whether it is practical to teach philosophy to all students. Schooling that democratizes philosophy can reveal that many more human beings are gifted than we could have imagined. W.E.B. Du Bois (2001) in fact argues that virtually all humans should receive higher education. A compelling reason to democratize philosophy is to further democracy itself. Connecting School to Life and Philosophy to School Nel Noddings’ Philosophy of Education (2011) claims that education is lost on many students because they feel no deep connection to the mater

FAQs

What does the paper identify as a major problem in education?

Education is described as losing contact with philosophy, which in turn weakens its connection to the people it is meant to serve.

How does Nietzsche factor into the paper’s argument?

Nietzsche is used to explore how grave danger can stimulate the creation of a new morality, and to support re-visioning education in response to unprecedented threats.

Why does the paper argue for teaching philosophy more broadly?

Democratizing philosophy is presented as a way to further democracy itself and to show that many more people than expected are capable of higher education and deeper engagement across schooling levels.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Marglet