A Short Interview With "Phil-Grad" Brian Rabern
What made you decide to be a (professional) philosopher?
Drugs.
What do you consider to be the most pressing philosophical issues of our day?
Is philosophy an autonomous a priori discipline? We act as though it is but it would be nice if we had a systematic account of our a priori methodology, i.e. intuition-mongering, conceivability arguments, conceptual analysis, etc. If philosophy is not an autonomous a priori disciple, then what exactly are we doing?
What are some of your favorite philosophical problems (issues, etc.)?
Frege's puzzle, the Liar's Paradox, the special composition question, conceivability and possibility, etc. It's difficult to think of a philosophical problem that I don’t like.
Where are you in terms of the program (what phase)?
Finishing course work.
What's your area of specialization?
Language, Metaphysics & Epistemology.
Are there any areas of philosophy that you feel our department is particularly strong in? How about weaknesses (if any)?
We are very strong in Epistemology, Philosophy of Language, Logic and issues surrounding Mental Content (w.r.t. M&E, I think we are heavy on the E and a little light on the M).
It seems that our department is a very close department, both in and out of the office... What advantages do you think this brings to an academic department?
Having a community of like-minded passionate people around is essential to a healthy graduate department.
What do you like to do when you're not doing philosophy?
Hang out with my wife and babies. Eat good food, drink good wine, and listen to good music, go to the beach. Basically, I like to party.
Where do you see yourself in five years (ideally)?
Living in a college town somewhere between here and Canada with a tenure-track job. Publishing and not perishing.
Do you have any "words of wisdom" for individuals who may be considering a career in professional philosophy?
Don't worry. As I see it after a B.A. in philosophy you have the following options: law school or other non-philosophy grad school, some very lame real job, or backpacking around Europe. The last option is the only serious one but you will run out of money eventually and then the only good option is to go to grad school in philosophy. And you're in luck, because graduate study in philosophy is great; there is nothing I would rather be doing right now (if there was something I would be doing it!). Once you are in grad school a career in professional philosophy is almost inevitable so enjoy it (if you don't enjoy it you can always go get that lame real job you always wanted).
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