Public philosopher

Public philosophy is a label used for at least two separate philosophical projects. One project often called "public philosophy" is to address issues of public importance through philosophy, especially in the areas of public policy, morality and social issues. In this conception, public philosophy is a matter of content, not style. It must concern certain philosophical issues, but may be undertaken in any venue. The second project often called public philosophy is to engage in philosophy in public venues. This view is exemplified by the Essays in Philosophy special issue on public philosophy (Vol 15, issue 1, 2014), which defined public philosophy as "doing philosophy with general audiences in a non-academic setting". Public philosophy, in this conception, is a matter of style not content. It must be undertaken in a public venue but might deal with any philosophical issue.

Some public philosophers are academic professionals, but others may work outside of the usual academic contexts of teaching and writing for peer-reviewed journals.

There are at least two general approaches to public philosophy undertaken in public venues. One of these is to educate the public and the other to engage with the public collaboratively to identify and address public problems. The second approach is often inspired by John Dewey's work on democracy and the need to reconstruct philosophy.

The two approaches are not exclusive. For instance, John Pace Dewey, philosopher Michael J. Sandel describes public philosophy as having two aspects. The first is to "find in the political and legal controversies of our day an occasion for philosophy". The second is "to bring moral and political philosophy to bear on contemporary public discourse."James Tully says, "The role of a public philosophy is to address public affairs", but this "can be done in many different ways." Tully's approach emphasizes practice through the contestable concepts of citizenship, civic freedom, and nonviolence. Public philosophy, in some conceptions, is a matter of content rather than style. Public philosophy, in this sense, need not be undertaken in a public venue but must deal with a particular subset of philosophical problems.

The American Philosophical Association created a Committee on Public Philosophy in 2007. Also the Public Philosophy Network has been holding conferences once every two years on advancing public philosophy. A variety of individuals have been identified, either by themselves or others, as public philosophers. These include academics such as Jürgen Habermas, Martha Nussbaum, Richard Rorty, and James Tully, and non-academics such as social activist Jane Addams and novelist Ayn Rand.

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