L’insegnamento della filosofia a scuola e la questione del canone

The function and nature of the canon in philosophy education is a topic more often discussed than systematically studied. This article examines it within the context of school philosophy teaching, adopting a comparative European perspective. The establishment—or critique—of canons of authors, works, and questions raises the issue of the standpoint from which they are defined: whether from the perspective of tradition and the influence historically exercised by certain authors and texts (a parte obiecti), or from that of their present reception, interpreted through the values of a community and its educational institutions (a parte subiecti). Far from being a static list, the canon emerges as a dynamic construct that mediates between disciplinary identity and critical openness. A comparison of curricular and policy documents from Italy, Spain, and France allows for the identification of certain typological parameters of canons: their breadth (narrow or broad), their degree of prescriptiveness (rigid or flexible), and their level of identity investment (the greater or lesser weight accorded to the national philosophical tradition). Finally, the paper considers the 'strength of the canon' — that is, the extent to which officially defined canons exert an effective influence on classroom practice. An empirical study conducted among final-year philosophy classes in Tuscan upper secondary schools during the 2024–2025 academic year highlights distinctive tendencies in teachers’ choices, oscillating between adherence to official norms and efforts at innovation.