The act of philosophizing as emancipatory resistance: approaches to the thought of Paulo Freire and Matthew Lipman

Abstract

This article proposes an approximation between the thoughts of Paulo Freire and Matthew Lipman, aiming to reflect on the act of philosophizing as a practice of emancipatory resistance within the educational context. In a scenario marked by policies that silence critical thinking, such as the reform of the New High School in Brazil, defending philosophizing as a right becomes an ethical and political stance. This theoretical and bibliographic research seeks to highlight the points of convergence between Freire and Lipman around concepts such as dialogue, questioning, autonomy, education, and the teacher’s role. Both advocate for an education centered on listening, problematizing the world, and building emancipatory knowledge, recognizing children as active subjects capable of philosophical thought. Thus, the text argues that philosophizing, by provoking questions and stimulating curiosity, strengthens critical thinking and contributes to a liberating and emancipatory formation. In times of curricular reconstruction, conceiving Philosophy as a living and essential experience from the early school years is also a way of resisting educational models that devalue thinking and freedom.