Carmelo Galioto

El artículo analiza el argumento de la posibilidad de la verdad (APV) propuesto por Michael Hand como única justificación para la clase de religión (CR) en escuelas públicas laicas. El APV sostiene que la CR solo se legitima si se fundamenta en examinar la verdad o falsedad de las proposiciones religiosas. El artículo cuestiona y reformula esta postura desde los aportes fenomenológicos de Roberta De Monticelli, concluyendo que, aunque es necesario incluir la dimensión veritativa en el estudio de la religión en las escuelas, el APV corre el riesgo de reducir la religión a meras proposiciones, ignorando su dimensión vivencial y su fuente axiológica.

This paper develops the following thesis: teaching about religions in public school holds meaning and value beyond civic purpose, aiming also to educate the existential and spiritual dimensions of students. In developing this thesis, Carmelo Galioto employs a phenomenological approach in considering the place and role of religion in public schools. First, he reconstructs the prevailing liberal arguments regarding the purpose of teaching religion in public schools. Second, drawing on some of Edith Stein's claims, he proposes that public schools contribute not only to the development of civic friendship and critical thinking, but also to existential purposes. Third, he presents how Simone Weil's reflections help us to see the connection between teaching religion in public schools and accomplishing important existential and spiritual purposes. Finally, Galioto details how teaching religion serves as a key element in the existential and spiritual development of students, taking into account various issues related to this educational aim. The phenomenological approach, he concludes, contributes to a specific conception of religion as an educational subject in the public school system, one focused on teaching about and from religions.

What importance do we recognize to the relationship between education and individuality in today’s educational institutions? Recent educational policy choices are increasingly focused on proposing curricula based on the skills to be acquired, (standard) action parameters for schools and on the use of “accountability” devices aimed at verifying the achievement of expected results. Following a similar approach, the individuality of each appears as a neglected element. In this article, the link between education and individuality in school curricula is addressed, according to a phenomenological perspective. The starting point outlines a synthetic picture of the ways in which the philosophy of contemporary education thematizes the issue; then, in a second part, it develops a phenomenological description of the relationship between education and individuality such as to integrate and broaden the contributions of today’s philosophy of education. The article concludes by showing some implications aimed at rethinking the school experience as an opportunity for integral education and suggests indications for possible further research.