Engaged Philosophy and the Public Philosophy Network are partnering to present a special interview series that highlights the work of public philosophers who will be presenting at the 2019 PPN Conference Oct 17-19, 2019.
Peg O’Connor is a Professor in Philosophy at Gustavus Adolphus College. Her research and public outreach on addiction philosophically untangles unproductive debates and helps move individual transformation and social policy forward.
What type(s) of public philosophy do you do?
I work on issues related to addiction. Addiction is arguably one of the biggest public health concerns in the United States. Since there is little agreement about what addiction is, there is little agreement about the best ways to address it. There are some longstanding debates that never seem to go away but that are largely unproductive—such as whether addiction is a disease or a choice. Another contentious debate revolves around the issue of who or what is addicted. Are brains addicted or are people addicted? Some people are even beginning to talk about addicted communities. As a philosopher, one of the important tasks I have is to make these debates productive by examining hidden assumptions within them, clarifying terms, and showing where opposing positions may have more in common than first appears. I do much of this work in my writing for the general public and in various podcasts, news interviews, and talk shows. I am often the only philosopher in the mix.
I am a Wittgenstein scholar by training, and so I am always concerned with the conditions for making sense. I am also a recovering alcoholic who spends a lot time with people struggling with addiction or in recovery. I believe that philosophical concepts can be powerful tools in helping addicts make sense of their behaviors and see ways to transform them. Philosophy can also help those who live/love/work with addicts as well as those who professionally engage with us to understand how so much of what others might regard as crazy or nonsensical makes perfect sense to other addicts.
My work has taken me to medical facilities to discuss humility as a virtue in treatment professionals. I provide workshops to in- and out-patient treatment centers. I also have a standing invitation with a church in the Boston area that provides services and support for people who struggle with addiction and lack stable housing.
Give an example of a successful project.
I presented two workshops to an in-patient treatment center that served young college age students who had been to in-patient rehab and were hoping to make the transition back to college. The first workshop was on “existential concussions,” a term I use to describe a condition that follows from the destruction or failure of a person’s frameworks/worldview for making sense. The second workshop used Aristotle’s views on friendship to explore how some friends can aid and abet addiction while others help us to become people who get sober.
What benefits does doing public philosophy offer to the public(s) you engage? What benefits does it offer you?
I have found addicts to be very philosophical even if they have never studied philosophy. So many wonder about the questions that define our discipline—meaning of life, human nature, responsibility, knowledge, and self-knowledge, etc. Working on addiction matters has made me appreciate even more philosophy in general and some particular philosophers in particular such as William James.James’s The Varieties of Religious Experience had a profound impact on the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous. Unfortunately, they lost the inclusive conception James had of “higher and friendly power,” and instead focused on a Christian notion of God. This narrow focus drives many away from Alcoholics Anonymous. I’m working on a book that puts James’s work in conversation with contemporary views of addiction and treatment.
What role does the PPN play in your philosophical work? What role do you play in the PPN?
I am relatively new to the PPN. I am awfully glad the PPN exists because the world needs philosophers more than ever who are using our skills and philosophy’s concepts to untangle thorny debates, reframe them, provide clarity in arguments, and show the moral dimensions of policy matters, for example. We also need to inject philosophy into issues where we’ve been absent. Addiction is one such field. Another is trauma, which was the subject of a wonderful conference this past spring at University of North Carolina Asheville with Melissa Burchard.
The work that we do outside of the classroom and the colleges and universities is vital to strengthening the discipline of philosophy. In many ways, philosophy has become marginalized in the academy and in the view of the general public. Too often I hear news reports or read articles about The Value of the Liberal Arts with philosophy as Exhibit A of uselessness. That is simply wrong both in a descriptive and prescriptive sense. The PPN can help to change the public’s perception. The PPN can also help to change (for the better!!) the perception of the engaged work we do in some concrete ways within the discipline of philosophy.
How do you motivate yourself to do public philosophy in times of political or personal struggle?
Reading a newspaper usually provides the kick I need. Every day I read at least one article or op-ed about addiction, overdoses, drug companies, or physicians overprescribing. I am horrified by the rapid expansion of “refusal clauses” in healthcare. I prefer this term to “conscience clause,” because it is more descriptively accurate and doesn’t privilege the beliefs of a healthcare provider over beliefs and needs of patients. While much of the focus is on women’s reproductive health, transgender patients, and end of life matters, refusal clauses can play a role in treating addicted patients. People who shoot up drugs such as methamphetamine run the risk of developing endocarditis, which is a bacterial infection of the heart valves. Heart valve replacementsurgery can fix the problem, but a person can develop new infections if still injecting drugs. Some physicians tell their patients before surgery that if they get a new infection from drug use, they will not operate again.
What failure have you experienced doing public philosophy, and how did it teach you as you moved forward?
I find myself on interdisciplinary panels with neuropsychologists and physicians, for example. I read widely (and hopefully carefully) in a number of disciplines. But I am neither a psychologist nor a physician. On one such panel, I ended up pretty much bracketing my philosophical comments and trying to talk their talk. It was not good. I felt like an idiot and a fraud all the while knowing that my philosophical comments would have been valuable. The lessons for me: trust what I know, expand what I know, and don’t go too rogue in stressful situations. I think I’ll be learning these lessons my entire life.
If you had to pick a “theme song” for your public philosophy, what would it be? Why?
I need two theme songs. Amy Winehouse’s song, “Rehab,” is defiant, poignant, and tragic given her death. The other is Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweat’s “S.O.B.” It is an addict’s recognition of or even resignation to his fate if he doesn’t quite drinking.
EngagedPhilosophy readers: If you’d like to nominate yourself or someone else for an interview, email us at info@engagedphilosophy.com.
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