Rethink, an education and community outreach program co-founded by John Fantuzzo, a TC doctoral student in Philosophy & Education, has been awarded the 2015 Prize for Excellence and Innovation in Philosophy Programs by the Philosophy Documentation Center and the American Philosophical Association.

Based at Columbia and run by graduate student volunteers, Rethink facilitates regular small group discussions on philosophical issues with court-involved youth as well as victims of domestic violence and related forms of gender violence.  The primary aim of Rethink is to empower its participants by fostering habits of critical thinking by engaging them in discussions of such philosophical issues as authenticity, authority, democracy, disagreement, equality, moral responsibility, power, punishment, racism, sexism and testimony.  Graduate students at both TC and Columbia regularly volunteer with the program.

The annual prize “recognizes philosophy departments, research centers, institutes, societies, publishers, or other organizations that risk undertaking new initiatives in philosophy, and do so with excellence and success. It honors the success of these programs so they may inspire and influence others to follow their lead.”

Fantuzzo wrote about Rethink in an article in the spring edition of Teaching Ethics, arguing “that the primary aim of teaching ethics to court-involved youth should be the realization of respect.” In the article, entitled “Towards a ‘What If’ Class: Practices of Respect as the Aim of Teaching Ethics to Court-Involved Youth,” Fantuzzo argues that unlike programs designed to improve educational and economic opportunity, programs based on respect can help them move beyond social labels and openly challenge what he describes as a “broken” criminal justice system.

Published Tuesday, Jan 19, 2016