Community Philosophy
Project
The New Earswick Community Philosophy Project was a three-year
demonstration project funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation
(JRF), designed to promote intergenerational understanding.
Community Philosophy is a way of mutual learning which emphasises
the importance of questioning and enquirey in the development of
understanding.
The study explored Community Philosophy in an intergenerational and
residential environment, rather than the more usual context of
schools and young people only. It:
- introduced Community Philosophy and demonstrated how it can
develop over time;
- explored the activities and levels of participation of local
residents, the team of philosophers, the project's advisory group
and the project management;
- examined emerging themes and the extent to which philosophy
could be an appropriate tool for developing relationships in the
community;
- discussed, through project workers' stories, issues for
supporting Community Philosophy practitioners and engaging and
developing trust within the community
.
Key points:
- The project has succeeded in developing relationships and
dialogue across generations, although it remains to be seen whether
these relationships will continue when the project is no longer in
place to support them. It has been able to initiate and support
conversations that otherwise would not have happened, both within
and between generational groups.
- The project was working to numerous objectives, which could be
difficult to reconcile. These included: How does philosophy of
this nature work in communities? How can it address issues of the
perception of nuisance? How does it engage people
inter-generationally?
- The Community Philosophy approach drew on the tradition of
Philosophy for Children (P4U) in schools. However, facilitating
community-based philosophy differed in some significant ways from
school-based work. In particular, it needed to be less directive
and more flexible.
- Because Community Philosophy required non-directive content, it
was important to respond to a range of participants' interests,
beyond the 'nuisance/tolerance' agenda.
- In the course of its work, the project tried many different
approaches and has effectively developed a bank of experience from
which similar projects could draw.
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