Social Philosophy and Policy

Upcoming Conference

The second Social Philosophy and Policy conference, entitled Education: Ideals and Practices, will take place August 8-11, 2013 at the Lodges at Deer Valley in Park City, Utah. The conference invites participants to examine the purpose, methods, and practices of education in a liberal society.  What are the goals of public education and what standards are appropriate to evaluate its outcomes?  Should justice, prosperity, or community be the main concern of education, and if so, how do each of these goals change the focus of education?  Is a society’s educational system supposed to be guaranteeing opportunities or outcomes? These are some of the central questions this conference will explore. This conference is co-sponsored by Liberty Fund, a non-profit foundation based in Indianapolis, IN that conducts its own program of educational activities.

About SPP Conferences

Each of our two yearly conferences culminates in an issue of the journal Social Philosophy and Policy featuring work on a specific topic that blends together theoretical questions in political philosophy with the practical concerns of public policy. 

About the Journal

The journal was established over 30 years ago by Ellen Frankel Paul, Jeffrey Paul and Fred Miller at Bowling Green State University's Social Philosophy and Policy Center. It was designed as an interdisciplinary forum on the philosophical underpinnings of enduring social policy debates. The semi-annual issues are thematic in format. The new editorial team aims to honor the journal's tradition of representing the full spectrum of philosophical, economic, political, and legal scholarly opinion.  Starting in 2013, the journal Social Philosophy and Policy is edited by David Schmidtz.  Carmen Pavel is the new managing editor.