Public Philosophy and Outreach
CategoryHow An Interesting Example of Public Philosophy Happened
This past Sunday’s edition of the Star-Ledger, the leading New Jersey-based newspaper, published five brief proposals to “upgrade democracy” authored by political philosophers and theorists, alongside assessments of their practicality by scholars from Rutgers’ Eagleton Institute of Politics. (more…)
The Variety and Value of Public Philosophy
Readers may recall our discussion last month of the column by Agnes Callard (Chicago) in which she questions whether public philosophy is good. In response, the Executive Committee of the Public Philosophy Network (PPN) has now issued a helpful reply. (more…)
How Is Good Public Philosophy Possible?
“When Aristotle said that the intellectual life is one of serious leisure, I believe he was trying to avoid the Scylla of business and the Charybdis of pleasure. If philosophy offered helpful answers to the questions you were asking anyways, it wouldn’t be leisurely; if it added fun to the life you were living anyways, it wouldn’t be serious.” (more…)
“Philosophy in Plain Arabic” Aims to Bring Philosophy to the Public in the Arabic-Speaking World
Bel Arabi Falsafa (“Philosophy in Plain Arabic”) is a new initiative at the American University in Cairo that aims to “democratize access to philosophy and change popular perceptions of it not just in Egypt, but also in the Arabic-speaking world as a whole.” (more…)
Philosophy Breaks Into the Podcast Big League
Hi-Phi Nation, an audio program that takes things of interest to most people and turns them inside out to reveal fascinating philosophical questions and problems, has been picked up by the popular online magazine, Slate. (more…)
Some Philosophers Are Leaving Twitter
Two philosophers with relatively popular Twitter accounts have quit using the social media service in recent days, both citing the mental tolls their engagement with other Twitter users has taken. (more…)
Philosophy Game Jam
What’s a game jam and what could it possibly have to do with philosophy? (more…)
John Corvino Hopes to Teach the Public to Argue Well
John Corvino, professor of philosophy and dean of the Honors College at Wayne State University—and public philosopher extraordinaire—has created a new series of videos to help people learn to argue well. (more…)
Is Scientific American a Trustworthy Periodical?
Scientific American is a monthly magazine aimed at popularizing scientific and technological findings. But how trustworthy a magazine is it? (more…)
Bringing the Philosophy of Self-Knowledge to the Public with a MOOC
Mitchell Green, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Connecticut, has created an ambitious MOOC (massive online open course) that he will be teaching this year. It is free and open to anyone with an internet connection. (more…)
An Ethics Bowl Inside San Quentin State Prison
In February, in the chapel of San Quentin State Prison, seven philosophy undergraduates from the University of California, Santa Cruz faced off against a group of prison inmates—in an ethics discussion. (more…)
President of Ireland Bestows Philosophy Award On Student
Michael Higgins, the president of Ireland, addressed students at the first Irish Young Philosopher Awards and called for more philosophy in college curricula, saying that “studying philosophy enables one to live with full capacity in solidarity and in cohesion with others, and that is just so very, very important,” and that “every subject that a university advertise..
Philosophers Launch Policy Debate and Book Project
Nearly 30 philosophers have embarked upon a project to engage in policy discussion and debates with the public in anticipation of the 2019 European Parliament elections. (more…)
Research on Public Attitudes Towards Philosophy & Philosophers
“Science communication is a profession in its own right with journals, higher degrees and careers paths,” notes philosopher Brendan Larvor (Hertfordshire). Yet there does not appear to be much of a “philosophy communication” analog. He notes, “so far as I know there is no research on public attitudes towards philosophy and philosophers.” (more…)
Syria and Misconceptions about Philosophy
In the wake of suspected recent chemical weapons attack on Syrian civilians by their own government, The Atlantic reached out to a few philosophers to learn what the “moral course of action” is for the United States. The collection of answers suggests a problem with public philosophy. (more…)
Making a Case for Pre-College Philosophy
“We assume that certain kinds of questions are only for advanced students, and I think that the irony is that, in many cases, not encouraging all students to ask those questions is why some are not advanced.” (more…)
New Philosophy Podcast on Love and Happiness
Jennifer Frey, assistant professor of philosophy at the University of South Carolina, has launched a new podcast on love and happiness called Sacred and Profane Love. (more…)
Philosopher Wins Grant To Increase Pre-College Exposure to Philosophy
The Whiting Foundation, a grant-making organization promoting the humanities in American culture, has awarded one of its Public Engagement Fellowships to Cristina Cammarano, assistant professor of philosophy at Salisbury University. (more…)
Summer Philosophy Programs for Undergraduates
Are you helping to organize a summer philosophy program for undergraduates? What are the details? (more…)
Mental Health and Philosophy of Mind
A philosopher has recently collaborated with a mental health organization to deliver a series of philosophy of mind workshops for people with an interest in mental health (including those with lived experience, mental health advocates, and service providers). (more…)
Philosophy for the Police
In 2015, Freddie Gray suffered fatal injuries in the back of a police van. Since then, the Baltimore police department has instituted various reforms, including an educational program for police that includes philosophy and literature. (more…)
Is the Public Receptive to Public Philosophy?
It is a common refrain: academics need to get out of their ivory towers and start engaging with the general public. It can come from a place of sympathy, worrying that valuable ideas are not reaching the public, or it can come from a place of dismissiveness, implying that academic debates need to change radically to become relevant to the broader populace. But in ei..
Philosophy in Schools: Continuing the Conversation (guest post by Myfanwy J. Williams)
The following is a guest post* by Myfanwy J. Williams, responding to last week’s post about claims made regarding the benefits of pre-college philosophy instruction. Dr. Williams is co-director of what she calls “a very small not-for-profit company,” which she is in the process of establishing with two fellow philosophers, John Foster and Faye Tucker (Second Though..
The State of the Study of Consciousness
What’s the current state of the philosophical study of consciousness? In The New York Review of Books, Tim Parks (Associate Professor of Literature and Translation at IULM University in Milan) and Riccardo Manzotti (Associate Professor in Theoretical Philosophy, IULM University, Milan) continue their series of public philosophy and science of mind conversations in “..
New Philosophy TV Show: Ethics Matters
Ethics Matters is a new television show that debuted yesterday on Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s youth-oriented channel, ABC 3. (more…)
Large Grant To Support Pre-College Philosophy In Australasia
The Federation of Australasian Philosophy in Schools Association (FAPSA) has been awarded $281,656 AUD (roughly US$224,000) to fund a project that brings philosophy to pre-college students. (more…)
Philosophy Time with James Franco (guest post by Eliot Michaelson)
The following is a guest post* by Eliot Michaelson, Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at King’s College London, about Philosophy Time, a series of philosophy videos he created with actor James Franco. (more…)
Philosophy In Germany: Too Popular For Its Own Good?
An article in the current issue of Foreign Policy,“German Philosophy Has Finally Gone Viral. Will That Be Its Undoing?” describes the surge in philosophy’s popularity in Germany and asks whether it comes at too high a cost. (more…)