Adam Briggle

Adam Briggle is Associate Professor the Department of Philosophy and Religion at the University of North Texas. He practices field philosophy, working to foster improved discussions and decisions about real-world problems.

1. What civically engaged project(s) or work do you do with students?

For several years, I worked in an engaged fashion with people in my town of Denton, TX to think through our regulations for natural gas development. The town sits on the Barnett Shale, and we have about 300 gas wells in our city limits. At first, several of us worked to generate more informed pubic dialogue by coordinating speaking events with various experts and stakeholders. Then we wrote reports to advise City Council. Finally, after years of failed attempts to protect health and safety, we led an effort to ban the use of hydraulic fracturing in Denton. Students studied this issue in class and those who were particularly motivated got involved by helping people register to vote, gathering signatures, and block walking to hand out literature. I wrote up this story in A Field Philosopher’s Guide to Fracking.

2. What is your role? Why did you choose to become involved?

I see my role as that of the “field philosopher,” which my colleague Bob Frodeman and I have written about in our new book Socrates Tenured: The Institutions of 21^st Century Philosophy. The field philosopher begins with real-world problems and works in partnership with a variety of stakeholders to think through the inevitable philosophical issues lurking therein. Bob and I think that this kind of engaged work is important to the future viability of philosophy and that it can help foster improved discussions and decisions.

3. Give an example of a successful project completed by students you work with.

One project is in some ways completed but in other ways just beginning. I worked with a couple of students recently to write a grant to purchase renewable energy credits for some of our on-campus energy use. We just found out that the grant has been awarded, which means that we can now claim that UNT’s Discovery Park—our engineering campus—will be powered by 100% renewable energy. My students were instrumental in conceptualizing this grant…and I will continue to work with students on the outreach, education, and research portions of the project now that we are funded.

4. What do you think students gain from doing this civic engagement?

I think students gain a wider sense of professional responsibility as well as a more entrepreneurial sense of what philosophy and the humanities can be in the 21^st century. I hope that they walk away seeing that many of our problems today actually hinge on philosophical and humanistic questions even though they are packaged as technological or economic in nature. I hope this excites them about the role they can play in helping us to solve lots of challenges.

5. What does the civic engagement project offer to wider communities?

Most of the people I work with are part of our local, non-academic community. I think we can offer them access to the university, which can bring resources and credibility to their projects. We offer them various skills of thinking through problems (e.g., analyzing arguments, unearthing hidden values commitments, calling attention to competing interpretive framings). We can offer helpful ways of facilitating more productive dialogues and inquiries. For K-12 schools, we can also really help to enrich discussions related to the curricula they are working on. For example, I just spent a few hours with 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th graders on questions of animal rights, environmental issues, and wealth inequalities. I think a perspective from academic philosophers on these issues, if appropriately pitched to the audience, can really help the K-12 teachers pry open some important questions for our youth.

6. If someone wanted to do these projects at their own institution, what steps or resources would you recommend?

I would recommend starting small and finding something that fits the overlap between your passions and a genuine community need. Get your feet wet with something little. Then, try to build up by bringing a student along. If that goes well, talk to your Chair about making something programmatic or getting a few resources if you need them. Try to find ways to get the student academic credit for doing the engaged work—maybe an internship course could be created. Along the way, I’d look into your tenure and promotion criteria to make sure they align with the values of engaged philosophy. I’d also promote the idea to your Dean and Provost—show them how philosophy can break their assumptions about a wooly-headed, irrelevant backwater. From there, I think it would be great if there were entire undergraduate streams in philosophy devoted to engagement and even whole graduate programs—there is a world of possibility out there!

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