Public Philosophy Network

Overview

Welcome to the Public Philosophy Network’s Guides to Public Philosophy!

Some guides are devoted to public philosophy that engages with particular topics or themes, such as food and animal justice, art and aesthetics, migration, and the philosophy of science. Other guides are devoted to particular modalities of public philosophy or particular sorts of community groups, such as philosophy with children, podcasting and video, philosophical counseling, and clinical ethics consultation. 

Each guide contains a survey of the existing scene (a not-necessarily-comprehensive review of the range of relevant public philosophy projects that have already been developed), a set of recommendations for people getting started, a list of model projects, a list of possible funding sources, and a set of references and resources for further study. The guides are short, practical introductions to doing the work, though they often contain sketches of the landscape of theoretical reflection on that work. They are meant primarily for newcomers to the type of public philosophy in question, but we hope experienced practitioners also find them useful.

Many important varieties of public philosophy – important themes, modalities, and types of community partner – are not adequately represented in the initial set of guides. To that end, we hope to add more guides on a rolling basis. If you would like to contribute to the series, see below to find out how to submit a proposal.

Submissions

We are currently accepting proposals for new guides. Proposals should include (1) the type of public philosophy to which the guide will be devoted (a particular topic or problem area, modality, or type of community partner); and (2) a brief explanation of why you are the person to write this guide. Note that we are considering proposals rather than draft submissions. Note also that all guides follow the same format - one section each for survey, recommendations, model projects, funding sources, and references and resources for further study. Proposals should be submitted by email to Ian Olasov (ianolasov@gmail.com).

The Guides