Philosophy Campaign

the philosophy campaign

The campaign that exists for philosophical advocacy, cultural integration, education, and community

Introduction

If you are interested in philosophy and would like philosophy to become part of our culture, then I advise you to join the philosophy campaign. This is not just for philosophers. If you see something valuable in philosophy and would like there to be more philosophy education or a greater philosophical influence on the world, then you might want to support the philosophy campaign.

Why does this campaign exist?

Philosophy is one of the most important educational opportunities, but it has been marginalized to the point that it has a negligible cultural impact. Almost no one knows that philosophy exists, and people find philosophy offensive.

If you are interested in philosophy, then you are part of an endangered species. Philosophy is the subject of good reasoning, which is something few people even know exists.

Why should people know philosophy exists?

It’s not just for strange old men who read lots of books. It’s for everyone. Philosophy helps us improve our thinking, learn to be more reasonable, and learn to become better human beings. Philosophy has lead to logic, computers, and modern science. (There is much more to be said in favor of philosophy. Go here for a detailed discussion.)

Philosophy is marginalized.

Many people—including scientists don’t accept that philosophy can exist. Many think that we have science and superstition, and that’s it. The idea of reasoning in a correct way about morality, religion, and logic is generally not taken seriously.

Philosophy was once explicitly understood by all educated people, but it has become esoteric and reserved for academic philosophy professors who are now hidden away at the universities. People tend not to know philosophy exists. They might know that there are people who study something called “philosophy,” but they don’t have any idea what is going on. When people actually hear philosophical thinking and arguments, they are often offended. Arguments are understood to be “insulting,” “authoritarian,” and “manipulative.”

What about science?

Some philosophers think science is a branch of philosophy, but that has been of little help promoting “nonscientific philosophy.” Although many people trust the results of science, they are not aware of what doing science actually consists in. They are not actually trained to understand how to do science or become scientists. The fact is that science requires arguments, criticism, good reasoning, and logic—which were originally developed by philosophers. We can use good reasoning to try to understand things that are not discussed by science, such as morality, religion, and justification. We don’t have to just rely on the findings of scientists. We can learn to reason for ourselves.

The connection to the “Out Campaign.”

The philosophy campaign is a spin off of the Out Campaign. However, my main concern is not atheism. If we are going to make the world a better place, I think philosophy is one of the greatest ways to do so. There are irrational atheists and theists, so the Out Campaign doesn’t help us solve our greatest problems. Both theists and nontheists are welcome to support the Philosophy Campaign.

Why support the Philosophy Campaign?

Any of the following reasons could be a good reason to join the campaign:

You don’t want philosophy to be marginalized or hidden.
You want people to know that philosophy exists.
You would like philosophy to have a greater impact on the world.
You would like there to be more educational opportunities for people to learn more about philosophy.
You want there to be a philosophical community.

How to support the Philosophy Campaign

I suggest the following:

1. Spread the word.

You can talk about it or add a link back to this page. You make a link by using the Philosophy Campaign’s official symbol or however else you would like.

The code to add a link using the above image is the following:

2. Join the Facebook group.

The Philosophy Campaign has a Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/philosophycampaign

3. Learn philosophy

The more you know about philosophy, the more you can make sure that it has some sort of an impact on the world.

4. Teach philosophy

This isn’t just about teaching philosophy in the classroom. It’s about teaching philosophy by being willing to have philosophical conversations with other people and help them understand how to think philosophically.

5. Become part of the community

Create (or join) a blog, video series, book club, newspaper, or community center that discusses philosophy and helps people understand philosophy that know little to nothing about it.

6. Lobby the government or create a political action committee.

We can use philosophy to decide the role of the government and then take action to help shape the future of our country. We can fight for transparency, accountability, responsible spending, try to stop illegitimate subsidies, and try to improve public education. For more information, go here.

More information

James Gray, October 8, 2010 – March 22, 2011

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