public philosophy
TagIs 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: “The Las Vegas of Rational Inquiry”
Every society has a population that loves trashy, glittery entertainment; porn; gambling… and it would be foolish to despoil some beautiful area with it. Plunk it in the middle of some otherwise irredeemably inhospitable and infertile desert—concentrate the glitz and sleaze in one place where it can be indulged in with a minimal impact on the rest of the world. ..
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…)
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…)
Philosophical Op-Ed Contest Winners Announced
The American Philosophical Association (APA) has announced the winners of its 2017 Public Philosophy Op-Ed Contest. (more…)
Public Philosophy Via Facebook Check-Ins
Here’s an interesting way of using technology to bring philosophy to the people:
APA Issues Statement On Valuing Public Philosophy
The American Philosophical Association (APA) has issued a statement supporting public philosophy and urging philosophy departments to consider recognizing work in public philosophy not just as service, but also, when fitting, as teaching or research. Here’s the statement:
Taking Public Philosophy Seriously (guest post by Adam Hosein)
The following is a guest post* by Adam Hosein, associate professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado. A version of this post initially appeared at Philosopher, a site at which philosophers are invited to describe their work. Thanks to Meena Krishnamurthy, assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Michigan and editor of Philosopher, for permiss..
Inaugural Winner of the Sanders Public Philosophy Prize
Martin Smith (Edinburgh) is the inaugural winner of the Public Philosophy Prize from the Marc Sanders Foundation for his paper “Why Throwing 92 Heads in a Row is Not Surprising.” The prize is publication of the essay in Philosophers’ Imprint and $4,500. (more…)
30 All-Night Philosophy Parties Around The World This Weekend
Thirty French consulates around the world are sponsoring all-night philosophy parties this weekend. The “Night of Ideas” events are free and open to the public, and will feature philosophical discussions and debates, readings, film screenings, musical performances, and more, according to Quartz. (more…)
Why Policy Needs Philosophers As Much As It Needs Science (guest post)
The following is a guest post* by Adam Briggle and Robert Frodeman, both professors of Philosophy at the University of North Texas and co-authors of Socrates Tenured: The Institutions of 21st Century Philosophy. This essay originally appeared in The Guardian and is reposted here with permission of the authors.
What Does The Public Call What We Call “Public Philosophy”?
We are accumulating a large list of philosophers who do public philosophy in the comments to “Who Does Public Philosophy?” It is great to see that so many academics are involved in bringing philosophy to people outside their classrooms and peer groups, and especially heartening to see so many names on that list of people who haven’t been much mentioned before in the..
Who Does Public Philosophy?
The American Philosophical Association’s Committee on Public Philosophy is compiling a list of philosophers who have careers doing public philosophy, either exclusively or concurrently with careers in academic philosophy, and can use your help in identifying them.
There are a variety of ways to do public philosophy, so to be more specific, the committee is lookin..
Winners of the 2016 APA Public Philosophy Op-Ed Contest
The American Philosophical Association (APA) has announced the winners of its 2016 Public Philosophy Op-Ed Contest, sponsored by its Committee on Public Philosophy. The goal of the contest is “to honor five standout pieces that successfully blend philosophical argumentation with an op-ed writing style.” The winners are: (more…)
How To Treat Your Fellow Philosophers In Public
Jason Brennan (Georgetown) thinks that facts about public ignorance haven’t been sufficiently appreciated by political philosophers and political theorists. Such facts should temper our enthusiasm for democracy and make us more sympathetic to epistocracy (rule by the knowledgeable). The self-described “bleeding heart libertarian” recently published a book, Against D..
Philosophy Talk’s Fundraising Troubles
During its last fundraiser, Philosophy Talk, the weekly radio show hosted by Stanford University’s John Perry and Kenneth Taylor, failed to make it more than 4% of the way to its $150,000 goal, according to The Stanford Daily. (more…)
Philosophy For Children on the US/Mexico Border
Local school teachers, professors and students of philosophy at the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP), and several community organizations have teamed up for a bilingual project called Philosophy for Children in the Borderlands: (more…)
Philosophy Now Magazine Wins Russell Award
The Bertrand Russell Society issues an annual award in recognition of individuals or institutions that follow “in the Russellian tradition of encouraging philosophical inquiry in a popular manner.” (more…)
New Funding Source for Public Philosophy Projects
PLATO (Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization) is a national network devoted to promoting pre-college philosophy education. It just created the PLATO Philosophy Fund (PPF), “which will provide funding for a wide range of innovative philosophy programs with the aim of broadening philosophy’s reach,” according to a post by PLATO founding president and PPF chair..
Jennifer Nagel To Do an AMA Session on Reddit Today
There will be an “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) session on Reddit today with Jennifer Nagel (Toronto). The session begins at 1pm Eastern Time (US), and you can submit a question ahead of time, check out the other questions, and then follow the discussion this afternoon, here.
The AMA is presented jointly between the moderators of the philosophy subReddit and the folks a..
APA Op-Ed Contest Nominations Due Soon
The American Philosophical Association (APA) holds an annual contest for the best editorial or opinion pieces published by philosophers:
The goal is to honor five standout pieces that successfully blend philosophical argumentation with an op-ed writing style. Winning submissions will call public attention, either directly or indirectly, to the value of philosoph..
First Alain Locke Award for Public Philosophy Awarded to Andrew Light
Public Philosophy Award Update
As reported in December, the Marc Sanders Foundation, which offers several philosophy essay prizes, has created a new award for public philosophy. Barry Maguire (UNC), who has played a large role in creating this prize and in other public philosophy initiatives, informs me that submissions for the award are now welcome, and has more details at his site, including:
..
BBC Launches Public Philosophy Program
The BBC has launched a new program called “The Global Philosopher.” Each episode is a public philosophy session led by Michael Sandel (Harvard) with participants video-conferenced in from all over the world. Video footage is then edited, put online at the BBC’s site, and also broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
You can watch the first episode, on immigration and refugees, ..
Philosophy Needs Better Marketing
The plans for growing and diversifying philosophy can’t be a shotgun approach. We need to find places every year where we can advocate and promote philosophical growth with precision because of our limited resources. We can do this through a robust development and advocacy process along with PR and advertising campaigns. There are lots of ways to grow and diversify ..
Funds Available for Public Philosophy Projects
Working on a project in public philosophy? Need some money to help do it? You can apply for funding from the American Philosophical Association’s Berry Fund, administered by the APA’s Committee on Public Philosophy. From a post at the Committee’s blog:
Grants are generally under $1000. Some sample projects that The Berry Fund is supporting:
(1) a philosophy and sc..
NEH Grants Supporting Public Philosophy
At the recent Eastern Division Meeting of the American Philosophical Association (APA), in a session organized by the APA’s Committee on Public Philosophy, Peter Fristedt and Mark Silver of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) described various grant programs available to philosophers interested in obtaining support for work in public philosophy. Mr. Fris..