Abstract

In recent years, more and more philosophy scholars have been practicing what social sciences commonly refer to as “fieldwork”. However, what one may call “field philosophy” raises a number of specific issues. What is fieldwork in philosophy? Why should philosophers engage in fieldwork? How can they proceed both in theory and in practice? The present paper draws on the two-day conference that took place in Lyon in 2019 bringing together philosophy scholars and PhD students who conducted fieldwork in the domains of health and ecology. Based on these discussions, we question the objects, forms, methods, and aims of this approach, while proposing some methodological milestones. As a method that is rooted in the philosophical tradition all the while being concerned with its ongoing topicality, field philosophy as we understand it contributes to enriching the philosophical discipline in its bibliographical and historian traditions, and to elucidating the relationship between philosophy and society. We believe that a community of inquiry is thus crucial in fostering methodological creativity and in continuing to elaborate on the aims and methods of this practice.