-An Interview Series with John Capps–
“Pragmatism is very much about the world of practice where people live and work. It seems that most philosophers—even American Philosophers—dwell in the world of ideas. I have come to see that I have a mediator role as a philosopher. I mediate and translate the ideas of pragmatism to people who live in the world of practice filled with problematic situations. I can translate and apply philosophical ideas in ways that are understood and used in the world of practice.“
Patricia Shields is a Regent’s Professor and University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Texas State University where she directed the Master of Public Administration program for nearly two decades. In addition to applying pragmatism to public administration, she has applied John Dewey’s theory of inquiry to research methods (as author and co-editor of A Playbook for Research Methods and the Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in Military Studies) and examined Jane Addams’s ideas of peace, social ethics, and contributions to public administration (as editor of the Oxford Handbook of Jane Addams and Jane Addams: Progressive Pioneer of Peace, Philosophy, Sociology, Social Work and Public Administration). She was editor-in-chief of the journal Armed Forces & Society from 2001-2025.
What does American philosophy mean to you?
On one level, American philosophy means the ideas of John Dewey and Jane Addams as well as key insights from Charles Sanders Peirce and William James.
On a personal level, American Philosophy (in my case Classical American Pragmatism) gave me a reason to follow my heart and instincts as a scholar. It transformed my life as a professor; reinvigorating my attachment to my field of public administration and my understanding of research methods.
Given my unorthodox introduction to classical pragmatism and my focus on public administration, I never expected recognition for my ideas in philosophy. I was happy to receive an invitation to participate in the “I Am an American Philosopher” series. It is one of the best and most surprising honors of my career.
How did you become an American philosopher?
I followed an unorthodox route to American Philosophy. It began when I was in my 40s and a professor of Political Science. I was xeroxing copies of a letter I had received from Amitai Etzioni who then held an Ethics Chair at Harvard Business School. He had read my article “Freud, Efficiency, and Pragmatism” (in Social Science and Public Policy [1989]) and dropped me a note saying how much he liked it and was planning to share it with his colleagues and students. In this article I looked at user fees in human services with a focus on equity. I tried to capture surprising differences in perspective across three professional groups: social workers, economists, and public administrators.
Political Science was on the same floor as philosophy, and the Chair of our philosophy department, Vince Luizzi, walked by and asked what was going on (I was obviously happy). I showed him the letter, and he expressed interest in reading the article. I was very confused: how could a philosopher be interested in user fees? I asked him why he was interested and his response, “I study pragmatism,” changed my life.
In my own reflection on the article, it was clear to me that both social work and economics had something of a core philosophy that my field of public administration missed. I chose the term pragmatism as an umbrella term that captured an administrator’s implementation role. I did not even know pragmatism was a philosophy. Vince’s words offered hope that maybe pragmatism could be the philosophical stance I had been missing but did not know where to find.
Vince was incredibly generous and offered to tutor me on this philosophy—pragmatism. He was a philosopher, administrator, and lawyer, which gave him experience that overlapped with public administration. For a couple of years, he gave me books to read—works by Dewey and James mostly. Every time I had a question about the readings, he stopped what he was doing and sometimes spent hours in conversation gently tutoring me. I also joined the Dewey listserv and met a graduate student at the University of Texas named David Hildebrand. Every philosopher I met listened to my ideas and answered questions. After two years of intensive study, I felt independent. I considered myself a student of Dewey and began writing about the intersection of pragmatism and public administration.
Pragmatism is very much about the world of practice where people live and work. It seems that most philosophers—even American Philosophers—dwell in the world of ideas. I have come to see that I have a mediator role as a philosopher. I mediate and translate the ideas of pragmatism to people who live in the world of practice filled with problematic situations. I can translate and apply philosophical ideas in ways that are understood and used in the world of practice.
How would you describe your current research?
I am working on several projects. I have a contract to write a book (with Travis Whetsell) on pragmatism and public administration. I am also working on articles and book chapters that apply pragmatism to research methods. I am particularly interested in looking at the role of theory in empirical research. I am editing a special issue on peace and public administration for the journal Administrative Theory and Praxis. Here the ideas of Jane Addams are front and center.
What do you do when you’re not doing American philosophy?
I love to cook and, right now, soups are a special interest. We live near a wilderness park where I love to take long walks. My husband and I enjoy traveling and spending time with our children and grandchildren. We are also very active in our church.
What’s your favorite work in American philosophy? What should we all be reading?
Dewey’s Logic: The Theory of Inquiry is the most impactful work. While I began my study of pragmatism trying to show the links between pragmatism and public administration, I quickly learned that ideas from his Logic could help my practitioner master’s students with their empirical capstone projects.
Jane Addams’s Democracy and Social Ethics is another book I really enjoyed. Her Twenty Years at Hull House is just a good read.