How might sitting around a campfire thinking about sticks help lead to a reflection on what makes a psychologically rich life?
That’s one of many thought-provoking questions to be discussed during Public Philosophy Week, a free, statewide series of events running from March 30 to April 5. Throughout the week, Vermonters are invited to engage with complex topics by participating in discussions, lectures, tastings and screenings. Many will take place in Burlington, with additional events scheduled in Ripton, Montpelier and Brattleboro.
University of Vermont philosophy Professor Tyler Doggett founded the annual event series in 2017. He said the idea was inspired by Pensa, a multi-day festival in Barcelona that fosters public philosophical discussion.
Doggett said Pensa opened his eyes to the power of discussing philosophical ideas “outside the confines” of academia. He also noted that many Vermonters he knew had backgrounds in philosophy, making the state a natural fit for a public initiative.
“I thought, ‘Oh, there are lots of people in Vermont who have a lot of expertise and might be willing to talk about this stuff,’” he said, “and I thought it was important, since a lot of what we talk about when we’re talking about politics depends on philosophical issues.”
The open-ended discussions that occur during the week in previous years have sparked interest across age ranges and demographics, Doggett said. Turnout varies with each gathering; some draw large crowds, while others, such as one past event about Chinese comics, only had four attendees.
“Some of my favorite events that I’ve been to in Public Philosophy over the years have actually not had huge turnouts,” Doggett said.
Public discussion forums — of any size — encourage broader conversations about Vermont’s political climate by posing ethical questions surrounding ongoing policy debates, Doggett said.
Pointing to the ongoing debate regarding supervised injection sites as an example, he said using philosophical models of questioning can help communities address big questions. Also called overdose prevention centers, these locations — where people can use illicit drugs in the presence of someone capable of reversing an overdose — raise concerns such as, “is it okay for the state to be abetting the illegal behavior of some of its citizens?”
“It’s a way to bring people together to talk through their own ideas about [issues]. I think a lot of people have opinions about things like safe injection sites, and they might not have anywhere to put them. They might not know other people are interested in them,” Doggett said. “And so, one goal of public philosophy is to give people a place to get together with other like-minded people to talk about these areas of interest.”
While the majority of the week’s funding comes from Vermont’s universities, Doggett said almost all of its 46 total events happen “out and about” in public spaces, rather than on college campuses.
One such event, “Thinking About Sticks,” will be held at the Spirit-in-Nature trailhead in Ripton and led by Middlebury College professor and Philosophy Department Chair Dr. Lorraine Besser. The gathering invites participants to do exactly what its title implies: look at and talk about sticks. The goal of the exercise is to explore “psychological richness” — a state of well-being achieved by relishing the present moment, Besser said.
“The way I see this … is not as a separate practice, but as an everyday life skill to bring to moments of your life,” Besser said. “And I think the benefits of psychological richness build up by seizing these small moments.”
Besser, who has been involved with Public Philosophy Week since 2017, said the program started with a handful of events in Burlington that attracted a small group of participants.
“[In 2017] I gave a talk in the Sangha Yoga Studio in Burlington, and we just sat and talked about flourishing,” Besser said. “It was such an impactful event for me, and just such a nice space and moment.”
However, she said Doggett has worked hard to make the series “literally explode” in reach since then. Besser said one of the most exciting aspects of the week, for her, is its accessibility.
“The best thing, I think, about this is how many people outside of professional philosophy are taking advantage of this opportunity,” she said. “We have all sorts of different events coming… It’s just a great, informal opportunity to sit around and talk about philosophy.”
Event hosts also include a mother and her eleven-year-old daughter who will lead a discussion on children’s rights and a former event attendee who will explore the philosophy of biking. According to Doggett and Besser, the week has a “no-repeat” event policy, so each year, participants explore a new set of topics.
“I have not encountered anything like this, where it’s just a sustained local movement growing steadily over the years,” Besser said. “To do this kind of a flash of events — it’s a unique thing.”
