“Philo-sophia”. A few considerations on the contribution of a classical philosophical perspective on the research methodologies in the field of Restorative Justice

Can a philosophical approach contribute to the research methodologies in the field of restorative justice? More than this, is there a philosophical approach, and how can it be defined? Philosophers would likely open a debate on these issues and even raise other questions, thereby giving a clue of a peculiar feature of philosophy: preferring questions to answers. Since the emblematic figure of Socrates, philosophy seems to embody research; problematisation; dissatisfaction with easy answers; cautiousness towards commonly accepted notions and ideas. This is because, according to a classical perspective, philosophy does not search for peculiar and delimitated forms of knowledge, but rather seeks an overall and whole-encompassing one (the ‘sophia’ towards which philosophers tend, with a motion of the spirit so well expressed by the word ‘philein’). From this consideration, this chapter outlines a path meant to draw some aspects that characterise a ‘classical’ philosophical attitude and its possible contribution to the research and the debate on restorative justice.