I'm speaking on a panel titled "Public philosophy: its impact, challenges, and opportunities" and have 15 minutes. What should I cover with those minutes that would be most helpful for the audience? If you were attending a session like that, what would you want to learn about? - ThreadSky

thisishannahkim.bsky.social • 15 days ago

I'm speaking on a panel titled "Public philosophy: its impact, challenges, and opportunities" and have 15 minutes. What should I cover with those minutes that would be most helpful for the audience? If you were attending a session like that, what would you want to learn about?

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daedan63.bsky.social•15 days ago

How to get a hostile community to listen to an “other side” philosophy?

For example: What is the balance between public spaces and private exploitation? Specifically public lands that are effectively cutoff by private lands used for oil exploration ($$$ for local economy but could be multi use)

thisishannahkim.bsky.social•14 days ago

Oof hard question 🥲 i honestly feel like this is best taught in a classroom setting.....

spirabo.bsky.social•14 days ago

Parallels between state Shinto and fascism in Japan, the Yoon insurrection in Korea and current USA. What ethical precepts should apply to those in public life? Why have the institutions of governance failed? Can America be re-shaped? Is it valid to destroy government to redesign it?

thisishannahkim.bsky.social•14 days ago

These are such timely and important topics, thank you! (though unfortunately I think ppl want more know-how talks than particular content, esp since im not a political scientist/philosopher...)

kmdoublev.bsky.social•15 days ago

I'd want to learn about how to come by opportunities (Cold emailing a pitch? Is there a list of philosophy-friendly publications? Do you need to know people?...) and what there is to do beyond public essay-writing and how.

kmdoublev.bsky.social•15 days ago

Public philosophy can include art, tshirts (lol), public workshops, philosophy club outreach events, podcasts, news appearances, social media explainers... I'd love to hear more about things like that.

kmdoublev.bsky.social•15 days ago

Something like a list of examples of public philosophy in various mediums would be cool and inspiring.

thisishannahkim.bsky.social•14 days ago

These are all super helpful suggestions, will be taking them on, thank you!! 🙏

johnbender.bsky.social•15 days ago

I would be terribly interested in how East Asian philosophy (and your subfield more specifically) might help us find our way in a society that seems to have rejected the basic ideals underpinning Rawls etc (eg that luck matters a lot in outcomes and we should act accordingly)

thisishannahkim.bsky.social•14 days ago

Big question! I imagine diff strands of "eastern" thought will respond differently but it DOES seem noteworthy that so many of them - confucianism, mohism, buddhism- champion benevolence or compassion or nonbias concern for ppl to be the foremost virtue and value to guide our decision making

ivanbock.bsky.social•14 days ago

I'd like to know how realistic it is to expect public engagement with philosophy to be a widespread phenomenon and then how realistic it is to expect this to positively contribute to our world (like fighting misinformation and such).

thisishannahkim.bsky.social•14 days ago

This is an interesting Q-- i think growing interest in philosophy books / podcasts suggest there is more (if not perennial?) public engagement? Which is all the more why academic philosophers should try to contribute more?

jaltmann.bsky.social•15 days ago

Ugh, I know I'm not an academic formally, but I swear conferences used to give at least 20-30 for presentations and I hate how that has been cut. But to answer your question, maybe lean in to your knowledge and talk about Public Philosophy as antidote to Public Conspiracy? If the RW ideologue...1/n

jaltmann.bsky.social•15 days ago

is a kind of perverse sophist, peddling misinformation and conspiracies, how can public philosophy rise to meet that moment, particularly when it is on the periphery of the media/semiological infrastructure? Should public philosophy even reclaim storytelling contra conspiracy for itself? 2/n

jaltmann.bsky.social•15 days ago

You have such brilliant ideas about fiction, about the mediums that are conduits of it, etcetera. We're in an age of reactionary fiction, but can we conceive of public philosophy as antagonistic to that, as seeing the public in more affirmative ways beyond passive recipients of signs? 3/n

jaltmann.bsky.social•15 days ago

I'm sorry, I think I made things worse. But you have something powerful to say about how our capacity as storytellers/myth makers/etcetera has led to a conservative revolution set to set us back decades. Should public philosophy seek to reclaim stories for itself as an answer? Think about it.

thisishannahkim.bsky.social•15 days ago

Thanks, John, for the ideas (and kind words)!Agreed, philosophers (and intellectuals) needing to actually communicate beyond the ivory tower is important (sometimes I wonder if writing for news papers / magazines actually does that, must also look to other formats...)

jaltmann.bsky.social•15 days ago

True, but I also think right like it's....hm. My mind goes everywhere from the Gorgias of Plato, to Eco's Semiological Guerrilla Warfare. When Tucker Carlson was at his peak, no philosopher could've bested him, despite clear argumentative superiority. Why? Rhetoric and also....1/n

elisafreschi.bsky.social•14 days ago

Discuss how people think to need economical benefits, but in fact prefer narrative ones (e.g., giving them a sense of belonging or, in worse cases, a sense of superiority). If philosophers don't discuss such narratives, ppl will acritically grab the few made available for them by bad actors.

thisishannahkim.bsky.social•14 days ago

So true and timely. I suppose one question is whether philosophers are willing and able to give the kinds of narratives ppl want (e.g. one about superiority probably not) but it's true that people grab whatever narrative/heuristic they can, hence the need to supply more (appealing) alternatives...

elisafreschi.bsky.social•14 days ago

100% And also the duty to warn people about this need, so that they can be introspectively aware of what is happening within them and in society (lowering the price of eggs etc. is not going to make a certain political figure gain support unless there is a supporting narrative).

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