Theory of Change

Our Mission

Founded in 2007 The Philosophy Foundation conducts philosophical enquiry in schools, communities, and workplaces. 

Our mission is to bring understanding, wisdom and eudaimonia (flourishing) to the heart of education for children and adults. 

We believe that:

• Reasoning skills developed through philosophical enquiry are an indispensable foundation of all aspects of learning.
• Philosophy, like maths, music or physical education, is intrinsically worth doing and intrinsically engaging.

All our specialist philosophy teachers hold a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, and are trained to work in the specific setting where they conduct their enquiries, from primary schools to global businesses. Our overall aim is to equip our beneficiaries to participate fully in society, or in the community they are members of (e.g. work).

We understand doing philosophy in three broad ways, giving students:

• A philosophical encounter - to acquaint students (children and adults) with philosophical problems and thinking by providing the conditions for them to be able to philosophise (the activity of doing philosophy) with each other.
• Philosophical development - giving students the opportunity to practice and improve philosophising and the intellectual competencies involved in this, which have wider application in most, if not all subjects (see a list of intellectual virtues on Peter Worley's Academia page here)
• Philosophical independence - for students to complete our programme with a disposition to appropriately use these intellectual virtues / competencies, but without the support of a philosophy facilitator. In this way philosophy becomes an important part of life-long learning.

We are committed to promoting a high standard of philosophical understanding and practice within the P4C community and philosophy done in schools and other learning environments. 

Our Aims and Goals

TPF’s aim when doing philosophy is to allow beneficiaries the opportunity to improve their communication skills and deepen their thinking, their understanding of the world and of themselves, their experiences and other people, by refining how they think about those things through collaborative, critical reflection.

Our goal is that, by doing philosophy, beneficiaries learn to think better, to act more wisely and thereby help to improve their educational opportunities as well as the quality of their and others’ lives. Click on our What is Philosophy? page for more details on what philosophy is and how it can help people achieve that goal. 

We have a special focus on the disadvantaged and those that would not normally be introduced to philosophy as a practice or a subject. TPF therefore has a commitment to encourage, support and sponsor non-privileged children to study philosophy at University. In 2015-16 we were able to offer four London Universities support for their philosophy students through The Philosophy Foundation Hardship Fund.

What can we do for you?

Please email Kim, our Schools and Office Manager, if you would like to find out more about any of our programmes in schools, training for teachers, or workplace sessions. Or sign up to our newsletter below to be kept informed of courses and opportunities.