Violent prisoners taught philosophy
Watchdogs at Wayland Prison in Thetford, Norfolk, have revealed the inmates have been undergoing classes based on the works of Socrates and Zeno of Citium.
The theories behind stoicism were developed by Socrates, the Greek philosopher, while Zeno is credited with having developed the concept and founded the stoic school of philosophy, which he taught in Athens from about 300 BC.
Stoicism, which was taken on by the Romans, teaches individuals to focus on what they can control – their thoughts and actions – and to accept what they cannot, such as external events and outcomes.
Stoics strive to develop virtues such as wisdom, courage, justice and temperance to achieve a life of tranquillity and virtue.
The classes at the category C prison are said by its watchdog, independent monitoring board (IMB), to have been so popular that they have been scheduled throughout the year to meet demand.
The IMB said the innovative approach was proving an effective remedy to combat drug use at the jail and contributing to a decline in the amount of violence.
Data published by the watchdogs showed that assaults on staff and other prisoners had decreased.
'It is this sort of effort, which distances itself from both punitive and simply educative approaches and, instead, seeks to increase a prisoner's inner resilience, which we would encourage and were recommending in our commentary on the 2024 prisoner attitude survey,' said the watchdogs.
'We therefore recommend to the governor that the prison takes the success of this course and examines how additional resilience and prevention training could be introduced as an expanded weapon in its war on the evils of drugs and the rehabilitation chances of its prisoners.'
The move follows research by Manchester Met University into the impact of regular sessions on Descartes, Aristotle, Plato and other thinkers on prisoner's ability to trust and cooperate with other inmates, including some of the most dangerous Category A prisoners.
Dr Kirstine Szifris, a researcher in the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge, said the initial interactions were characterised by 'bravado, one-upmanship and competition' with the men not having any respect for any of their criminal counterparts.
She led the prisoners through a series of philosophical problems to illustrate ideas such as Plato's ideal society, the Stoic philosophy of the Greeks and Romans, and the Socratic method of inquiry.
One scenario led them to imagine they were shipwrecked on a desert island with other survivors and asked how they would organise their new society.
She found that through an emphasis on philosophical conversation, the inmates began to appreciate the importance of listening to each other.
'They learned that working together to understand what Kant, Descartes or Plato were saying was more fruitful than trying to outdo each other,' she said.
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