neutrality or complicity?
a critical-reflective look at philosophical practice with children in puerto rico
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12957/childphilo.2026.93306Keywords:
philosophy for/with children, critical pedagogy, neutrality, educational transformationAbstract
This article offers a critical reflection on philosophical practice with children and youth in Puerto Rico, grounded in personal, community, and institutional experiences. Through projects such as Guailimanai, Philosophy for Children Puerto Rico (FpNPR), and ZONA-FILO, it explores how philosophy can serve as a transformative pedagogical tool from an early age. The importance of philosophical dialogue, family participation, and critical thinking rooted in contexts of oppression is emphasized. Inspired by the work of Walter Omar Kohan (2018), the article establishes a dialogue between the proposals of Matthew Lipman and Paulo Freire. While Lipman aimed to develop cognitive skills through logical reasoning, Freire advocated for an education oriented toward critical consciousness and social transformation. The article expands on Kohan’s discussion by addressing the notion of educational neutrality, arguing that neutrality is an illusion in contexts marked by structural inequalities. From a critical pedagogy perspective, it asserts that education is inherently political. Neutrality, rather than ensuring equality, can become an ally of oppressive power. Therefore, the article proposes a committed philosophical practice, where educators and learners take ethical stances on issues such as colonialism, gentrification, femicide, racism, and adultcentrism. In this framework, philosophy does not seek to impose viewpoints but to foster sincere dialogue, deep questioning, and transformative action.
Downloads
References
Ayala Fontánez, I. (2021). El riesgo de una sociedad “adultocéntrica” en Puerto Rico. El Nuevo Día.
Bailey, A. (2021). The Weight of Whiteness: A Feminist Engagement with Privilege, Race, and Ignorance. Rowman & Littlefield.
Bomstad, L. (1995). Advocating Procedural Neutrality. Teaching Philosophy, 18(3), 197–210.
Burbules, N. C., & Berk, R. (1999). Critical Thinking and Critical Pedagogy: Relations, Differences, and Limits. In T. S. Popkewitz & L. Fendler (Eds.), Critical Theories in Education: Changing Terrains of Knowledge and Politics. Routledge.
Chetty, D., Gregory, M., & Laverty, M. J. (2022). Philosophizing with Children’s Literature: A Response to Turgeon and Wartenberg. Analytic Teaching and Philosophical Praxis, 42(1), 59–85.
Dewey, J. (1937). Education and Social Change. American Association of University Professors, 23(6), 472–474.
Dussel, E. (2016). Ética comunitaria (1a Edición digital). Fundación Editorial El perro y la rana.
Elicor, P. (2019). Philosophical inquiry with indigenous children: an attempt to integrate indigenous forms of knowledge in philosophy for/with children. Childhood & Philosophy, 15, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.12957/childphilo.2019.42659.
Elliott, J. (1973). Neutrality, Rationality and the Role of the Teacher. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 7(1), 39–65. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9752.1973.tb00472.x
Ennis, R. (1959). The “Impossibility” of Neutrality. Harvard Educational Review, 29(2), 128–136.
Ennis, R. (1969). The Possibility of Neutrality. Educational Theory, 19(4), 347–356. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-5446.1969.tb00399.x
Freire, P. (2004). Pedagogía de la autonomía. Paz e Terra SA.
Freire, P. (2005a). Education for Critical Consciousness. Continuum. (Original work published 1974).
Freire, P. (2005b). Pedagogy of the oppressed. (M. G. Ramos, Trans.) Continuum. (Original work published 1968).
Giroux, H. A. (2010). Rethinking education as the practice of freedom: Paulo Freire and the promise of critical pedagogy. Policy Futures in Education, 8(6), 715–721. https://doi.org/10.2304/pfie.2010.8.6.715
Godreau, I. P., Reyes Cruz, M., Franco Ortiz, M., & Cuadrado Oyola, S. E. (2010). Las lecciones de la esclavitud: discurso de esclavitud, mestizaje y blanqueamiento en una escuela elemental en Puerto Rico. In A. Santory Jorge & M. Quintero Rivera (Eds.), Antología del pensamiento crítico puertorriqueño contemporáneo. CLACSO.
Hofmann, D. C. (1964). The Schools and Neutrality: In Response to Professor Robert Ennis. Educational Theory, 14(3), 182–185. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-5446.1964.tb00173.x
Kennedy, D., & Kohan, W. O. (2021). Some ethical implications of practicing philosophy with children and adults. childhood & philosophy, 17, 01–16. https://doi.org/10.12957/childphilo.2021.61025
Kohan, W. O. (1995). The Origin, Nature and Aim of Philosophy in Relation to Philosophy for Children. Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children, 12(2), 25–30.
Kohan, W. O. (2018). Paulo Freire and Philosophy for Children: A Critical Dialogue. Studies in Philosophy and Education. 37(6), 615–629. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-018-9613-8
Kohan, W. O. (2021). Paulo Freire: A Philosophical Biography. Bloomsbury Academic.
Lipman, M., Sharp, A. M., & Oscanyan, F. S. (1980). Philosophy in the Classroom (2nd ed.). Temple University Press.
Lipman, M. (1988). Philosophy goes to school. Temple University Press.
Lipman, M. (2003). Thinking in Education, 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press.
Méndez González, L. J. (2025, July 2). Companies Behind Esencia Project in Puerto Rico Leave a Global Trail of Damage. Centro de Periodismo Investigativo.
Morrow, R. A., & Torres, C. A. (2002). Reading Freire and Habermas: Critical Pedagogy and Transformative Social Change. Teachers College Press.
80grados. (2011). Guailimanai: un huerto de niños para el futuro. 80 Grados: Prensa Sin Prisa.
Padilla Rosas, E. J. (2023). From Neutrality to Intentionality: Notes for a Philosophy of Liberation for/with Children. Analytic Teaching and Philosophical Praxis, 43(1). https://journal.viterbo.edu/index.php/atpp/article/view/1226
Pineda Rivera, D. A. (1992). Filosofía para niños: un acercamiento. Universitas Philosophica, 10(19), 103–121. https://revistas.javeriana.edu.co/index.php/vniphilosophica/article/view/11779
Rainville, H. (2001). Philosophy for Children in Native America: a Post-Colonial Critique. Analytic Teaching and Philosophical Praxis, 21(1), 65–77. https://journal.viterbo.edu/index.php/at/article/view/730
Reed-Sandoval, A. (2014). The Oaxaca Philosophy for Children Initiative as Place-Based Philosophy: Why Context Matters in Philosophy for Children. APA Newsletters, 14(1), 9–12.
Reed-Sandoval, A. (2019). Can Philosophy for Children Contribute to Decolonization? Precollege Philosophy and Public Practice, 1, 27–41. https://doi.org/10.5840/p4201811284
Ruíz, E. (2024). Structural Violence Is Self-Repairing. In Structural Violence (pp. 32–114). Oxford University Press, New York. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197634028.003.0002
Sharp, A. M. (1987). What is a “Community of Inquiry”? Journal of Moral Education, 16(1), 37–45.
Upegui-Hernández, D. (2025). Feminicidios, Desapariciones y Violencia de Género 2025.
Urquidez, A. G. (2022). White Individualism and the Problem of White Co-optation of the Term “Racism.” Radical Philosophy Review, 25(2), 161–190. https://doi.org/10.5840/radphilrev2022117124
Vázquez Rodríguez, V. (2024). Resistiendo la Gentrificación en Puerto Rico. La lucha comunitaria en Los Filtros en Guaynabo. Cuando los pobres se convierten en agentes de cambio social. Editorial Publicaciones Gaviota.
Vélez Peña, J. J. (2022). Genealogía de políticas educacionales y la colonialidad en Puerto Rico. 80 Grados: Prensa Sin Prisa.
Wall, J. (2025). Theorizing adultism: From adult domination to normative disempowerment. Childhood, 0(0), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/09075682251367184
Yancy, G. (2019). The Urgency of Refusing Adjustment. In G. Yancy (Ed.), Educating for Critical Consciousness (1st Edition, pp. 1–10). Routledge.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Erick Javier Padilla Rosas, zorayma navarro otero
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
copyright for each article published in childhood & philosophy belongs to its author(s). childhood & philosophy has the right of first publication. permission to reprint any article that appears in childhood & philosophy MUST be obtained in writing from the author(s). in addition to any form of acknowledgement required by the author(s), the following notice must be added to the statement of copyright permission made in the reprint (with the appropriate numbers replacing the ellipses): [Article Title] was originally published in childhood & philosophy, volume ..., number ..., pp. ...-...
