Public Philosophy and Outreach
CategoryHaving a Say in What You Believe and Finding “New Ways of Being”
One way philosophy professors try to interest new students in philosophy is by appealling to the idea that philosophy can help them be more independent thinkers, to take control over or responsibility for their own thoughts, to have more of a say in what they believe. (more…)
Amsterdam Synagogue Declares Spinoza Scholar “Persona Non Grata” (updated)
Yitzhak Melamed, professor of philosophy at Johns Hopkins University, has been declared a “persona non grata” by a rabbi of the Portuguese Jewish Synagogue of Amsterdam, following a request to record footage at the synagogue for a project on Baruch Spinoza. (more…)
Sanders Foundation Announces New “Philosophy in the Media” Fellows
The Marc Sanders Foundation has announced the inaugural class of fellows in its recently launched “Philosophy in the Media” program. (more…)
New Series on David Lewis from Hi-Phi Nation (guest post)
The newest season of Hi-Phi Nation, the popular philosophy podcast hosted by Barry Lam (Vassar College), is a four-part series on the work and life of philosopher David Lewis. (more…)
An Opportunity for “Serious Conversations on Great Books” (guest post)
“I hatched a dream of a zeal-driven education that might be offered with no strings attached to anyone who was interested. But the logistics of it flummoxed me…”
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Bringing Philosophy to Those in Need (guest post)
“There are those who are unable to attend formal classes in philosophy because of life situations, i.e., homelessness, re-entry from prison, working several jobs, working a fulltime job, can’t afford to pay for classes, anxious about formal education, caring for others, and of course, most recently, a global pandemic. That’s why we go to these communities and offer ..
Sanders Foundation Announces Philosophy in the Media Initiative
The Marc Sanders Foundation has created a new fellowship program that “aims to increase the presence of philosophy in print, audio, and video media by training philosophers to write and produce for the public and by connecting philosophers to editors and commissioners in the media industry.” (more…)
The New York Times Eliminates Dedicated Philosophy Column
The New York Times has instituted several changes to its publication of opinion pieces, and one of them is the discontinuation of The Stone, its dedicated space for publishing philosophy. (more…)
Concerns about Institutional Credit for Public Philosophy
When it comes to professional advancement, such as tenure and promotion, more and more philosophy departments are giving faculty credit for public philosophy—usually as service, but sometimes, depending on its form, as research or teaching. Does this institutionalizing of public philosophy come with problems? (more…)
How Should Departments Credit Faculty for Public Philosophy?
The Department of Philosophy at the University of California, Riverside (UCR), will be considering a proposal about how to recognize the work its faculty do in public philosophy. (more…)
Support Philosophical Outreach to Those Who Lack Access to Universities
Over the summer, Sophia Stone (Lynn University), creator of Wisdom’s Edge Foundation, asked for help collecting short philosophical sayings–the “golden nuggets” of philosophy. (more…)
New Ethics Blog
Public Ethics is a new philosophy blog providing “expert analysis of ethical issues in the news.” (more…)
On Norms for Public Philosophy
In a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Anastasia Berg, assistant professor of philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and an editor at the ideas magazine The Point, lays out what she thinks good public philosophy will do. (more…)
A Call for Public Philosophy Posts at PEA Soup
PEA Soup—the long-running, excellent “philosophy, ethics, academia” group blog—will be publishing more public philosophy and is looking for contributors. (more…)
A Big List of Philosophy Podcasts (updated)
How many philosophy podcasts are there? (more…)
New Philosophy Podcasts
A couple of new philosophy podcasts have started up recently. (more…)
What the Public Thinks of Philosophy and Other Humanities Fields
A new report from Humanities Indicators (a part of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences), based on a survey of over 5,000 U.S. adults, reveals and discusses various beliefs and attitudes the American public has towards the humanities, and includes information specifically about the public’s perception of and engagement with philosophy. (more…)
Coffee Company Donates 20% of Profits to Philosophy Education
A new roaster and seller of coffee beans, A Posteriori Coffee Co., donates 20% of its profits to support philosophy programs for children in kindergarten through high school and to organizations that provide philosophical resources to the public. (more…)
Program to Bring Ethics Bowl to Under-Resourced High Schools
The University of North Carolina’s Parr Center for Ethics has created a new “bridge” program to bring the center’s National High School Ethics Bowl (NHSEB) to new areas of the country, with a focus on under-resourced schools and underserved communities. (more…)
A Pandemic Ethics Book Club with the General Public (guest post by Jesse Hamilton)
“If philosophy is to thrive, it must be sensitive and responsive to the world it is meant to engage with. The non-philosophers in our reading group shed light on a world that may be difficult for us philosophers to see and point out aspects of lived experiences that we may not have access to.” (more…)
Major Philosophy Event for Pre-College Students Held Online This Year
The 2020 Australasian Philosothon—“an event that encourages school students to investigate ethical and philosophical questions in the context of ‘communities of inquiry’”—took place at the end of last month.
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Conversations with Philosophers about the Pandemic
Over the past few months, Sahana Rajan (University of Delhi) and Alan Nelson Isaac have been conducting interviews with philosophers, with a focus on “exploring the philosophical dimensions of pandemic situation.” The result is In Limbo Conversations. (more…)
Free Online Philosophy Courses for Spanish Speaking Youth
Philosophy for Children Without Borders (Filosofía Infantil Sin Fronteras), formerly known as Philosophy for Children in the Borderlands (previously), has launched a free, virtual philosophy course for Spanish-speaking youth. (more…)
Closer to Truth & Philosophers (guest post by Robert Lawrence Kuhn) (updated)
“Philosophy has novel opportunities to expand its share of the contemporary zeitgeist…” (more…)
Nonfiction and Narrative Popular Philosophy (guest post by Barry Lam)
“The design features that make for good academic philosophy might make for terrible public philosophy…” (more…)
“Philosophy By Postcard” Questions & Answers
Last year, In Parenthesis launched a public philosophy project with An Post, the Republic of Ireland’s postal service, called Philosophy By Postcard. (more…)
Public Philosophy and the News (guest post by Alexis Papazoglou)
Philosophy still can, and should, be done in the service of helping others make sense of our contemporary shadows on the wall: the never-ending news cycle. (more…)
Philosophy Camps for Teens (guest post by Claire Katz)
What we did not anticipate in that first summer was the intense relationship our campers would develop with each other, with philosophy, and with the experience of developing an intellectual community in the setting of a philosophy summer camp. (more…)