[T]yler Doggett wants more people involved in philosophical discussions.
The UVM philosophy professor started the university’s Public Philosophy Week in 2017 with the idea to spread philosophy “out of the academy and into the public square.”
Two years ago, there were eight events during the week, all in Burlington. This year, there are 50, with events spread across the state.
Organizers call it the largest public philosophy event in the country.
“It’s very important to me that the events be outside of academic spaces,” Doggett said. “I think those can be alienating for people in the general public and also not super attracting to say ‘let’s go to a Philosophy Department classroom’ as opposed to a brewery or a coffee shop.”
The events range from a discussion on civil disobedience with Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo (who is getting a PhD in philosophy himself) to discussions on the philosophy behind graffiti, or beer drinking, or homelessness. The events also target specific groups who aren’t always included in philosophical discussions — one discussion will be entirely in American Sign Language, while another will be just for elementary schoolers.
Elementary schoolers are one of the reasons why Doggett started the event. He went to school for philosophy, but was teaching second graders when the idea of bringing philosophy outside of higher education began to form.
“I was blown away by how philosophically adept these little kids were,” Doggett said. “I realized that people, even at a young age, have very philosophical questions.”
And it wasn’t just kids he saw having a philosophical appetite and no venue for it. Doggett said many people lack time and a space for philosophical discussions. But it took a second catalyst for the event to come to fruition. Doggett read a story in the Burlington Free Press about chronic homelessness that pointed to a sense of meaninglessness as one of the contributing factors to homelessness — alongside addiction and mental health struggles and poverty — that made him realize there was a real need for this type of discussion.
“Philosophy can’t help with not having money or with mental health or with addiction to drugs, but feeling like life is meaningless? Something philosophers think about all the time is what it is to have a meaningful life,” Doggett said.
Across the country, there has been a rise in public philosophy in recent years, with TV shows, newspaper columns and podcasts all dedicated to making philosophy widely accessible. Doggett said he’s seen the trend play out on a local level.
“It’s definitely happening in Vermont. It’s a good time for it,” Doggett said. “A lot of issues Vermont is really interested in have philosophical components, so there’s a lot of discussion going on.”
The event lasts through Sunday, and is sponsored by UVM, the Vermont Humanities Council, Middlebury College, St. Michael’s College, and Ommegang Brewery.
