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May 2, 2005
Consider this event organized by Jo Faulkner Friday 6th May, 2 pm on Sub Fm.
La Trobe Philosophy Postgraduates' Colloquium and Sub FM present a radio programme entitled 'Philosophy and the Internet.' The discussants include: John Lenarcic (RMIT), Ali Rizvi (La Trobe, philosophy blogger), Tennessee Leeuwenburg (philosophy blogger), Gary Sauer-Thompson (philosophy blogger). Will it go beyond teaching philosophy courses on the internet, the dream of a univeral library of philosophy online and philosophy blogs?
The event arises out of these two previous programmes on public philosophy. The first programme is about the three forms of public philosophy: cafe philosophy, facilitating Socratic discussion based around small dinner groups, and a conventional philosophy club talk and discussion. These are a "public refuge" for philosophical inquiry in that they provide an opportunity for people vexed by life's conundrums to question, doubt and express their views about a assortment of topics in a serious philosophical manner.
Now consider the quote below taken from an article on philosophy and public affairs by John Haldane:
"The most significant moment of development can be dated; it occurred in 1971 with the publication of John Rawls, A Theory of Justice. For the first time in the English-speaking world since Mill, a first-class philosopher had made moral and political issues a main focus of his work. The effect in America, Britain and beyond was and remains considerable. Philosophy began to be deployed in guiding the conduct of life. It soon became common to speak of "applied philosophy", though some would dearly wish to see that fact undone. The expression suggests a two stage process: first the philosophy is worked out; second it is applied. Besides demeaning the efforts of those who try to engage practical questions this conception overlooks the possibility that philosophy might arise from, and stay with practical issues, finding it methodologically more appropriate to use concepts peculiar to the issues in question rather than to replace them with highly general abstract ideas such as those of the right to liberty, or of the principle of non-maleficence."
The first part is a description of the analytic pathway whereby philosophy becomes engaged with the concerns with public affairs: the systematic theory is worked out first then it is applied to particular issues. Hence we have applied philosophy, whereby we apply established concepts of ethics to biomedical problems.
The other pathway is one where philosophy is already critically engaged in, and with, the understandings of our practices in everyday life. This pathway would puts the field of academic ethics in question and shift away from philosophy being done by professional academic philosophers who are paid to philosophize as part of their academic job. This form of public philosophy engages with the public issues of concern to citizens, and it uses our everyday categories to diagnose the ills and discontents besetting the modern Australian polity and offer prescriptions. Anxiety and public philosophy are interlinked for when the national mood grows tense and anxious we expect public philosophy to arise.
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