Philosophy

What impact has analytic philosophy had on American culture or its institutions outside of of the philosophy department of universities?

Comments

Good question! Analytic philosophers have had some influence in specific areas of American cultural life. So, for example, analytic philosophers such as Nagel, Raz, Dworkin, Murphy and others have had some impact on jurisprudence, philosophers have contributed to political treatments of medical public policy (Dan Brock was on some presidential panel under Regan), Danto and some other analytic philosophers have contributed to art criticism and thus the artworld, some analytic philosophers contribute to general cultural conversations on politics, religion and science (see, for example, the New York Review of Books, the Times Literary Supplement, etc). A host of analytic philosophers have also contributed to Blackwell and Open Court philosophy and popular culture volumes that cover films, telivision, etc... In my case, I have contributed to books on Narnia, Running, the series Lost, James Bond, Spielberg, Johny Cash, and even a book on Canabis and Philosophy. One of the most popular books in the Blackwell series, The Simpsons and Philosophy, was (I believe) on the New York Times' top ten best seller list. Some aspects of analytic philosophy will never (I wager) make it into popular culture (I doubt there will ever be a popular use of the terms 'explanans' and 'explanandum') but some writers trained in analytical philosophy do write and lecture to wide audiences. Tom Morris, for example, did superior analytic philosophy before turning to do popular philosophy, addressing the corporate world. The Teaching Company promotes the work of Daniel Robinson who is both analytic and an amazing contributor to the history of philosophy, history of psychology, and so on. Judging by sales, I would say that the Teaching Company has helped foster greater philosophical literacy in American culture, and this includes analytic philosophy.

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