The Relevance of the Idea of “Community of Inquiry” to Contemporary Ethics. In Memory of Matthew Lipman

Problematic and complex aspects of democratic life – such as the teaching of the concept of civil liberties, the spreading of responsible participation and pluralistic dialogue, the mutual understanding of different cultures and individuals, and the fulfilment of a common civil life based upon shared rules, procedures, and reasonable dialogue – are not yet solved and certainly need to be frequently revisited and reviewed. I believe that Matthew Lipman’s reflection on philosophical community practice, although developed in the 1970s, is still relevant to our contemporary age. Although Lipman developed the idea of “Philosophy for Children” (P4C) and “Community of Inquiry” within the school context, and although he did not aim to immediately extend it to society as such, I think that there are very interesting reasons which can support this possibility. The present essay will precisely try to put them in evidence.