Jay Miller’s account of teaching philosophy in prison is powerful and welcome (‘You want to talk about a world of lies?’ Teaching philosophy in prison, 9 September). This kind of “public philosophy”, which includes the excluded, is of profound value, he argues. Remarkably, philosophy in prisons is “A kaleidoscopic assortment of jokes, stories, anecdotes and philosophical insights …” This picture is familiar for the UK charity Philosophy in Prison.
The puzzle of Trigger’s broom, for example, can generate a joyous discussion of identity, time, the rights of work, relativism, freedom and responsibility, and happiness – where the whole room is focused and participating.
For such intractable questions, no one in the room has a definitive answer, neither the “professional” philosophers, nor those wondering about Trigger for the first time. So philosophical discussion has an equalising effect – everyone is puzzled, no one is disqualified from having a view, nor from arguing it well. It seems obvious that this kind of work is important for its own sake as well as for its effect on participants. But one feature of the prison population in the UK that Miller does not address directly is the high levels of functional illiteracy.
Offering prisoners university courses works for those who read and feel comfortable with writing. But philosophy can be done just by conversation, to include both those with high levels of education and those who have little. Anyone may participate; disagreement itself generates a toleration that manifests itself on the wing; and educational doors open afterwards. Philosophy in Prison does philosophy just by talking, in the anomalous public space of prison, and it matters for anyone in the room.
Mary Margaret McCabe
Professor of ancient philosophy emerita, King’s College London; Chair of trustees, Philosophy in Prison
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