Voltaire “Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers"

The French writer and philosopher Voltaire said, “Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.” (Forbes Magazine, n.d.). This statement evokes two human abilities - asking questions and giving answers. The latter seems to be less important to Voltaire. Curiously, in the traditional educational system giving correct answers is critical, whereas asking questions is more important for the progressivist approach.

First of all, I think that questioning is a characteristic of the inquiry mindset, natural curiosity, and willingness to understand the world. Questioning is active and primary whereas answering is passive and secondary. Answers can be different depending on a respondent’s perspective, and historical and cultural context. For example, since ancient times people try to understand how Life arose on Earth. The answer has been changing depending on religion, beliefs and scientific discoveries. Most probably, people will continue looking for answers pushed by their curiosity. Good questions push inquiry.

Further, if one looks at the statement through the lens of global competence, it will become evident that Voltaire’s idea could be connected to the first competence of a global citizen, “investigate the World.” This competence starts with the capacity to “identify an issue, generate questions, and explain its significance.” (Boix Mansilla & Jackson, 2011, p.12). Asking their own questions, students engage in deep learning as they “find internal motivation” to guide “their investigation of the world through core educational concepts.” (p. 18). They do not try to seek a pre-established “right answer,” rather they “engage intellectually and emotionally in searching for and weighting informed responses.” (p.21). For global competent students, as for Voltaire, giving “the right answer” is not the goal.

Further, I come to the second part of Voltaire’s statement. He recommends “judging a man by his questions,” thus the quality of questions is critical. According to Boix Mansilla & Jackson (2011), globally competent students ask and explore questions of global significance as they “can articulate the global significance of their questions and why these questions merit study.” (p. 21). Global competence teachers help students formulate global questions, significant locally, regionally and globally and worth further research. Global questions push students to explore, make hypotheses, research and experience. Boix Mansilla & Jackson (2011) highlight that the questions of global significance guide a student’s inquiry and oftentimes these questions are not addressed in textbooks. Teachers should support students in their efforts to gather, analyse and interpret different material and produce coherent evidence-based arguments (p. 30).

Already in the 18th century, Voltaire highlights the importance of asking questions. In the 20th century, American philosopher and educationalist John Dewey focuses on questioning and inquiry with regard to education. For Dewer, “finding ways of stimulating inquiry – thinking about the whys and hows of life, and about what to do and value – was a prime task of the teacher.” (“Inquiry-based learning. philosophical teaching-and-learning,” 2017). Further, in the same vein, education for sustainable development advocate for inquiry-based learning and promote pedagogies stimulating students to ask questions,

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