The Prison as a Public

Institute Fellows, Dr. Shannon Fyfe and Dr. Elizabeth Lanphier, have published an article in the Public Philosophy Journal about what is “public” (or not) about doing philosophy inside and outside of prisons in the United States. Read the article here.

"Philosophy in prison work is often categorized under the heading of “public philosophy,” which the American Philosophical Association (APA) Committee on Public Philosophy describes as “the broader presence of philosophy in public life” (n.d.). It may also be described as “community outreach” or “community engaged” work. In this essay, we reflect on our shared experiences participating in a prison philosophy program to consider just how our philosophical activities inside prison, and our related work outside, were—or were not—“public.”