Matthew Lipman e la Philosophy for Children come strategia educativa per combattere il fenomeno della violenza e della discriminazione sociale.

With this contribution I want to highlight in what terms pedagogy can modify and revolutionize social relationships and significantly transform social communities. To do this, the Philosophy for Children conceived by Ann Sharp and Matthew Lipman will be taken as a reference point. Specifically, attention will be paid to the figure of Lipman, who will be examined from a historical point of view and with the aim of enhancing the motivation that led him, in the 1970s, to think of a pedagogy which, making use of of philosophy, stimulate and educate a critical and divergent thought, with which to protect, or determine from scratch, the essence of democracy. In this regard, the figure of Lipman will be compared with that of John Dewey, pointing out how the Burlington thinker influenced Lipman's pedagogical ideal, urging him, albeit implicitly, to develop an educational model that stimulated critical thinking and encouraged to peaceful coexistence, mutual respect and nonviolence, so as to change the fate of men and the surrounding societies. In light of this, the following contribution aims to underline the topicality of the pedagogical intent of Lipman and Sharp, we will try to demonstrate in what terms intellectual education is able to combat the phenomenon of violence and social discrimination, representing, for this reason, an educational need to which current educational contexts must be able to respond.