Plato in the Republic says: “There will be no end to the troubles of states, or of humanity itself, until ... political power and philosophy come into the same hands.” Remarkable, then, that philosophy has been so sidelined in recent decades, with fewer and fewer universities maintaining dedicated philosophy departments.

Could this have contributed to the state that we’re now in globally? Maybe living the unexamined life has led us into deeper and deeper dumbness.

Article 17 of the Lisbon treaty aims to remedy this problem of the marginalisation of secular and religious thoughtfulness from public life. However, since it was signed in 2007, its aim of seeing European governments consult regularly and in a structured way with religious and philosophical organisations has been largely ignored.

When he was taoiseach, Bertie Ahern moved to set up a structured dialogue. But apart from when Leo Varadkar was in that role, it has been mostly ignored since. That is about to change.

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Taoiseach Micheál Martin met faith and non-confessional groups last September to begin work on developing an agreed format and schedule for ongoing dialogue. He reasserted his commitment to launching this dialogue at the Holocaust Memorial Day in January “to allow for open, respectful, and dignified debate and discussion on issues of mutual interest and concern”.

Now it looks like this dialogue will be formally launched in a matter of weeks – certainly before Ireland takes on the presidency of the European Union in July.

It is vital at this difficult juncture, socially and politically, that value systems and considered thoughtfulness find some vehicle to feed into public policy. This should not be a return to a kind of Irish theocracy, where one faith tradition held sway over all others in dictating social policy. It should be a process that hears what Catholics as well as Humanists have to say; what the Abrahamic and Dharmic faith traditions have to say on matters of importance. Secular thinkers and moral philosophers should be consulted as well as Rabbis and Imams.

Collectively, these wisdom traditions can speak to matters of social cohesion, reconciliation, humanity’s relationship to the natural world, and how to share social space in a dignified and respectful manner. They have important contributions to make on matters relating to artificial intelligence, economic inequality, social marginalisation and racism within Irish society.

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There will probably be much “agreeable disagreement” and a certain amount of agreement across ethical and philosophical traditions. But whatever the thrust of the debate, it should be informed by a desire to seek the common good, rather than to pursue personal profit and gain.

This should be a vital and necessary “parliament of voices” in a country that no longer maps on to the binary tribalism of Catholic versus Protestant, which belongs to decades past. In a much more plural society, to simply reproduce the proportional dominance of the largest religious or philosophical block would not serve an equal and open dialogue.

Rather, a bit like Seanad Éireann, proportionality should be balanced by representatives of various other interest groups and faith traditions, ensuring that their voice is not drowned out. A genuine dialogue cannot be allowed to descend into monologue.

To this end, Dublin City Interfaith Forum, which includes representatives of all major faith traditions in Dublin city, is eager to progress an all-island interfaith body, to feed into the Taoiseach’s vision of a Shared Island.

This new body would not eclipse any of the existing interfaith bodies, which are to be found in Dublin, Belfast, Cork and Galway and elsewhere. But would bring them together in a kind of interfaith Ireland network, to offer a diverse input to the structured dialogue, complimenting the voices of the long-established Irish churches.

Dublin and Belfast interfaith forums are already committed to this project, and are currently spearheading this new initiative.

The DCU Centre for Religion, Human Values, and International Relations has thrown its intellectual weight and practical support behind the design stage of the Taoiseach’s initiative. And support has come, too, from the European Parliament liaison office in Ireland, due to the context of the Lisbon Treaty, which makes the whole process possible to begin with. While the process of dialogue should begin soon by trying to define how the structured dialogue will function, it is important to acknowledge that the principles outlined here are yet to find an agreed institutional structure. That will be the first job, and should emerge through respectful discussion and eventual consensus.

But however this progresses, it is an important principle that is being reasserted now by the Taoiseach: that in a disenchanted time of dwindling social trust and alienation from mainstream society and politics; in a time of worrying polarisation and dehumanisation; thinking people and people of faith have something very precious and human to contribute. It is imperative that we find a vehicle up to the task of facilitating that contribution. I hope that the Taoiseach’s structured dialogue will prove to be that.

Rev Myozan Ian Kilroy is abbot of Zen Buddhism Ireland and represents Buddhism on Dublin City Interfaith Forum. He teaches in the TU Dublin School of Media.

© The Irish Times