Civic engagement as concept and practice has taken center stage of late, with much discussion centering on how to increase public participation in government life. As such, the term civic engagement has become a broadly conceived notion that, in moving forward, needs clarification so as to rectify internal inconsistencies and determine the best methods for implementing programs aimed at fostering this democratic virtue. Anthony Laden, Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Philosophy Department at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), has provided a conceptual framework that relies on a philosophical lens for understanding civic engagement in his research, “Taking the engagement in civic engagement seriously.” Building an argument for how engagement viewed as not merely active, but interactive, serves as a remedy for the problem of democratic erosion in society, Laden illustrates the social picture of engagement and demonstrates the necessity for engaged reasoning as a responsive, reciprocal activity. Questions such as, what is the role of citizens?, how do we sustain our citizenship and thus our democracy?, and how do we do civic engagement well? drive Laden’s discussion and lead him to an exploration of how civic engagement as activity acknowledges certain virtues and how, therefore, fostering civic engagement is an act of cultivating civic virtue.