In the academy, philosophy is alternately envied, or derided, as an “armchair” pursuit. The only tool required, it is said, is a lively and enquiring mind. Academic institutions have witnessed in the last 100 years or so a proliferation of disciplines and sub-disciplines, in both humanities and science, all jostling for territory and the mundanities of funding and tenure.
Like every other discipline, philosophy fears incursions, eyes new territories, and seeks new allies for co-operation. Also, like other fields of study, it has its fashions and trends. The early pre-occupations of the 20th century (notably Frege and his offspring, analytic philosophy), together with epistemological anxieties over Truth and the sceptre of scepticism, (post modernism) have waned somewhat in recent decades. Phenomenological or psychological exploration is now underway, notably through empirical field work in experimental philosophy and in cognitive science.
It is in this light that I want to explore what the future and territory of philosophy might look like: the areas where, it seems, territory seems under threat, but equally, new areas, often in conjunction with sociologists, psychologists, and other traditional professional disciplines, where interdisciplinary co-operative work holds promise.