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Philosophy is about
our common humanity;
it is for us all.
helolow
We do philosophy with anyone
in prison no matter what
experience they have of education.
We are delighted to be providing in-person courses in an ever growing number of prisons. We welcome inquiries about further courses.
Philosophy in Prison is a charity set up in 2018 to promote philosophical education in prisons and to explore the practical and philosophical principles that this involves.
Those in custody come from varying educational backgrounds. Some may have low literacy skills. Some may be disillusioned by education. Some may speak English as a second or even a third language.
We use philosophical conversation to engage anyone who is interested, whatever their educational background.
We Want
To set up stand-alone philosophy courses in prisons in the UK, accessible to a broad range of those in custody.
To train philosophers to run these courses so that they feel comfortable and confident teaching in a challenging environment.
To maintain a mentoring and evaluation network for our courses.
To establish a network of existing and new initiatives for philosophy in prisons.
To promote research into the principles and questions raised by doing philosophy in prison.
To contribute to developing policy in prison education.
Since 2021 we have been running research workshops on the ways that the criminal justice system may silence those who are caught up in it, ‘Prison Voices’. We have a major conference happening at the University of Sheffield on 5th November 2024. If you are interested in the conference or this work, please contact us.
Trustee, Dr. James Chamberlain, has drawn on his work with Philosophy in Prison, and the many insights gained in conversation with prisoners, in his paper 'Moral testimony and epistemic privilege' recently published in Metaphilosophy.
We develop materials including videos to offer a view of different philosophical questions outside of our in-person courses.
We submitted a response to the Government’s White Paper on Prisons, urging government to think more broadly about the importance and value of education in prisons.
Your contribution will make a big difference
Our Supporters
We are very grateful to the University of Sheffiled for funding courses at HMP Stafford, HMP Maidstone and HMP Downview.
Our sincere thanks to the British Academy for funding our 2024 'Prisons Voices' conference in Sheffield.
We are hugely grateful to the Royal Institute of Philosophy for funding both courses in prisons, and for our research on Prison Voices.
Thank you to Hi-Phi Nation for allowing us to use episodes of the series for supplementary work in some of the prisons where we run courses.
Thank you to Cambridge University Press for sending a collection of philosophy books into HMP Swaleside and HMP Downview as support for the libraries.
We are extremely grateful to Nigel Warburton and Dave Edmonds for allowing us to use episodes of the series for supplementary work in some of the prisons where we run courses.