In a few years, it will be two decades since I had my first Philosophy class at 12 de Outubro Secondary School, under the guidance of Professor Graciano Cornélio. Back then, I dedicated most of my time to activities I was passionate about. I loved music and occasionally wrote some Hip Hop verses and composed R&B songs for my dear Ivete (we dreamed she would become a great singer, but she gave up due to life's hardships). I also hosted radio shows (Mundo Sem Segredos and Tarde Jovem) and occasionally played football.
12 de Outubro Secondary School had too few classrooms to accommodate all the students. As a result, some of us were forced to attend evening classes. I would walk about 5 kilometers on foot, from Matadouro to Muhala Expansão, avoiding ambushes by thieves and even police officers who tried to steal our phones, money, and other belongings.
Professor Graciano Cornélio entered the classroom, introduced himself, and posed a thought-provoking challenge, asking us to share the questions that troubled us. Each of us began crafting questions on various topics. The more we tried to understand, the more questions emerged.
Midway through the class, a classmate asked if it made sense to pose questions for which there were no answers. He replied with another question: “Do answers exist without questions?” Faced with our silence, Professor Cornélio stated:
"There is always a question to be asked as long as we have the opportunity to live."
He then explained that the act of asking questions was the foundation of philosophizing. To philosophize, he said, was an active exercise in which, when confronted with seemingly obvious realities, we must always question. He quoted a philosopher who once said: "An unexamined life is not worth living".
Today, Philosophy is becoming increasingly central in Mozambique—not as a tool for ideological indoctrination, but as an exercise to question the limits of reason itself.
I wish a happy World Philosophy Day to all who dare to question.
(By Jessemusse Cacinda)
