Philosophy and Revolution in Brazil

Just about to take off for a Super Bowl party with friends, but I wanted to give y'all a link to this very interesting article on the teaching of philosophy in Brazil, along with two comments that were posted at the bottom of it.

First comment:

Why does the author take it for granted that, under the circumstances described, to "teach students to question and challenge THE FOUNDATIONS OF SOCIETY ITSELF" (my emphasis) is - for one thing - good and desirable and - for another - the task of philosophy??? To me it sounds more like the stock-in-trade of revolutionaries of every stripe, and of extremists and fanatics in particular, so why should any polity encourage such teaching in public schools at the taxpayers expense? Perhaps we should be thankful that Carlos Fraenkel did not write the curriculum for this interesting Brazilian educational initiative.
— posted 02/04/2012 at 16:09 by saksin

Second comment:

@saksin: The purpose of questioning is not to undermine; it is for each generation to relearn the reasons why. That you may occasionally realize the old reasons no longer apply is a necessary side-effect - and the one most needed to save a society from itself.
— posted 02/05/2012 at 20:13 by YKA