ERIC Number: EJ1465190
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1744-9642
EISSN: EISSN-1744-9650
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Can We Teach Philosophically about Unspeakable Human Suffering?
Ethics and Education, v20 n1 p15-30 2025
This paper is a reflective response to Tena Thau's suggestion -- in her 2024 piece 'Moral Philosophy as War Propaganda' -- that philosophy has little to teach about the war in Gaza (and, by extension, similar cases of widespread, horrific human suffering). I first reconstruct one of the arguments that Thau makes in her piece. I then show that her criticisms about philosophy are true for a particular way of doing philosophy, and I attempt to uncover the underlying philosophical anthropology that makes these moral philosophical approaches unsuitable for addressing grave human suffering. Finally, I propose that a critical phenomenological approach that examines widespread suffering through an anti-/post-/decolonial lens may be more suitable when teaching philosophically about human suffering.
Descriptors: War, Foreign Countries, Philosophy, World Views, Ethics, Historical Interpretation, Controversial Issues (Course Content), Current Events, Political Issues, Conflict of Interest, Bias, Critical Thinking, Phenomenology, Perspective Taking
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive; Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Gaza Strip
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Department of Philosophy, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines