improvising in the community of philosophical inquiry: a way to learn to inhabit uncertainty

This theoretical contribution proposes an open reflection on uncertainty, present in contemporary social and educational discussions, and on the value that learning to inhabit such “uncertainties” can have for the well-being of individuals and communities. Perceiving different alternatives before making a choice, finding yourself lost when faced with the ambiguity of some information, and feeling disorientated when faced with complexity, are all characteristics of this elusive “uncertainty” (Barreneche & Santi, 2022). Uncertainty can be perceived negatively if it provokes fear, worry, anxiety, perception of vulnerability (Hillen et al., 2017) or in a constructive way if it appears as a vital engine for research (Tauritz, 2019). Community of philosophical inquiry (CPI) – as conceptualized and promoted in the Philosophy for Children (P4C) curriculum - becomes a “safe creativity environment” (Weinstein, 2016), in which to learn to inhabit uncertainty. A CPI that improvises (Zorzi & Santi, 2023), develops and makes conscious dispositions towards uncertainty, learning to see alternatives as a resource, ambiguities as creative horizons of meaning, and complexity as a collective performance to be experienced. Six improvisational dimensions – (1) respecting diversities, (2) trusting possibilities, (3) building a sense of community, (4) opening attitude towards changes, (5) explorative attitude, (6) creative passion, emerged from other previous researches (Zorzi, Camedda, Santi, 2019), are proposed to orient facilitators’ and CoI's training, dialoguing with the “nine recurring moments of disequilibrium” suggested by Karin Murris (2008).