Dialogue and Disagreement: The Art of Civil Discourse in a Polarized Era
Developing and teaching practical philosophical techniques for engaging across deep differences, a core competency for the health of Midwestern communities and democracy itself.
The Future of the Institute: Challenges and Directions for Mid-American Thought
Looking ahead at the challenges facing the Institute and the broader project of articulating a coherent, relevant philosophical tradition for the 21st-century Midwest.
Public Philosophy: Bringing Wisdom to Main Street and the Town Square
Documenting the Institute's innovative methods for engaging citizens directly in philosophical reflection on the issues that matter most to their communities.
The Stoic Temperament: Resilience and Virtue in the Face of Adversity
Exploring the affinity between Mid-American character traits—fortitude, perseverance, acceptance—and classical Stoic philosophy, updated for contemporary challenges.
Indigenous Philosophies of the Ohio Valley and Their Contemporary Relevance
Engaging with the worldviews and ethical systems of the Shawnee, Miami, Wyandot, and other peoples, and their critical importance for rethinking our relationship to land and community.
The Concept of 'Home' in a Mobile and Globalized Age
Philosophically investigating the meaning of 'home' as a place of rootedness, memory, and obligation, and its tension with modern mobility and economic imperatives.
Technology and Human Flourishing: A Mid-American Critique of Silicon Valley
Offering a place-based, human-centered alternative to the disruptive, scale-obsessed ethos of West Coast tech culture, focusing on appropriate technology and community well-being.
The Philosophy of Food: Ethics, Agriculture, and the Shared Table
From farm to fork, examining food as a central locus of ethical, social, and metaphysical reflection within Mid-American life and thought.
Memory, History, and Forgetting in the Midwestern Consciousness
Exploring how the Midwest remembers and forgets its complex past, from Indigenous displacement to industrial glory and decline, and the philosophical implications of this historical awareness.
Philosophy of Education for Democratic Citizenship in the Heartland
Articulating a vision for education that cultivates the knowledge, skills, and virtues necessary for self-government in diverse, small-scale communities.
Environmental Philosophy: Stewardship of the Great Lakes and Farmland
Developing a distinctively Mid-American environmental ethic centered on responsibility to specific, fragile ecosystems and the concept of intergenerational justice.
The Role of Religious Communities in Shaping Midwestern Moral Imagination
Examining how Protestant, Catholic, and Anabaptist traditions have philosophically informed the Midwest's distinctive approach to community, charity, and moral reasoning.
Mid-American Political Thought: Between Communitarianism and Libertarianism
Analyzing the unique political philosophy emerging from the Midwest, which seeks a 'third way' between radical individualism and collectivism, emphasizing localism, civic virtue, and reciprocal obligation.
Philosophy of Work: Craft, Automation, and Dignity in the Changing Economy
Investigating the meaning of work from a Mid-American perspective, balancing the heritage of skilled manual labor with the realities of automation and the gig economy.
The Aesthetics of the Ordinary: Finding Beauty in Rust and Renewal
An exploration of Mid-American aesthetic theory, which finds profound beauty and meaning in the everyday, the worn, the industrial, and the process of decay and regeneration.