Cape Horn Field Station

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Research, Education and Conservation

Field Philosophy

The Department of Philosophy at the University of North Texas (UNT) is widely recognized as a world leader in environmental ethics and philosophy.  The Cape Horn archipelago allows UNT to frame its work in these areas in terms of “field philosophy.”  “Applied philosophy” implies that theorizing is prior and complete before the concepts are used; “field philosophy” emphasizes the importance of entering into settings where philosophic claims are tested by real world challenges, and that the insights reached in the field should reflect back upon one’s thinking in the classroom and study.

Field environmental philosophy does not begin with philosophy at all, but instead grows out of the work of other spheres of thought and life.  This means a shift from philosophers writing philosophy essays for other philosophers, to philosophers doing research and working on projects with other academic disciplines, public agencies, and policy makers.  The standard approach to environmental issues today on the part of society is to turn to science, economics, or democratic populism as a means to resolve our environmental debates.  The standard approach to environmental issues today on the part of philosophers is to focus on the theoretical underpinnings of environmental issues, with possibly a brief reference to a specific case or example.  A policy turn in environmental philosophy involves a third way, where philosophers begin from society’s own growing sense of the inadequacy of our conventional ways of addressing environmental problems.   

Rather than occurring only in the scholar’s study, philosophy also wears hiking boots and carries a walking stick, wandering trails that lead into our natural and cultural wildernesses.