This series of Student Reflections is based on interviews conducted by Elyse Purcell and Sarah Horne during the APA’s 2019 Central Division Meeting in Denver, Colorado.
Sahar Joakim received her A.A. degree in Liberal Arts in 2011, her B.A. in philosophy at the University of California in Los Angeles in 2017 and is currently a Philosophy graduate student at St. Louis University. Her research pertains to traditional and social epistemology.
What inspired you to pursue a graduate degree in philosophy?
An annoying thought that a traditional idea was wrong drove me to grad school. My senior year in college, my philosophy professor said something during lecture that really bothered me. He said something like, “But knowledge is a kind of belief, so…” I was left unsatisfied even after further discussion in office hours. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong with thinking that knowledge is belief, so I applied for graduate school to figure it out. Four years later, here I am, writing my dissertation on how knowledge can’t be a kind of belief.
Which branch of philosophy do you study?
My research is in epistemology (the study of knowledge). There is formal epistemology through which some contemplate degrees of confidence called credence, and there is traditional epistemology through which others (like myself) contemplate knowledge without numbers. My work is in traditional, social epistemology.
What interests you most about this branch?
Traditional, social epistemology does not constrain my research; that’s one reason why I’m most interested in pursuing it as a profession. I grew up in Los Angeles experiencing all sorts of different cultures and classes both in their segregated environments and (for example) on the bus where people from different lifestyles collide. Studying and writing in traditional, social epistemology, I get the freedom to extract from my real life experiences. Other branches of philosophy don’t get the logical space to ask, “How might the standards for believing someone change depending on how rich the speaker looks?”
Who is your favorite philosopher and why?
Now that is a tough question! Assuming I’d be failing to answer the question by naming more than one person: I will say Kant is my favorite philosopher. The reasons why are the same reasons why I love Plato, Aquinas, and Descartes; but there is something special about Kant. Although these philosopher’s I love reading are all serious, honest, and setting aside the political mumbo jumbo of their time to investigate truth, Kant stands out to me because he invented his own terminology so that the ambiguities of words don’t stand in his way. That’s a reason why many people don’t like reading Kant, you have to sit there and remember how he is defining his words that, and his sentences are long. But he is trying to be clear and thorough! I appreciate him for that.
What do you plan to do with your degree once you graduate? If you are choosing to do something outside of a faculty position, please explain what it is and why.
I’m scheduled to graduate with my doctoral degree in May 2020. There is no schooling available after that, so I will have to seek employment, sadly! I don’t plan on searching for post-doc’s, I’ll look to an especially fitting faculty position. I would love to read, write, and teach until I’m no longer capable. I’m unwilling to adjunct for years driving from school to school constantly worried whether I’ll be employed the following year and spending more time traveling between university’s than doing philosophy. If I’m not holding a steady position within two years, I’ll make being a mother a full time job. I’m unmarried and without child now, but being a homemaker is a life goal next to university faculty.
This section of the APA Blog is designed to share student reflections on APA meetings. We’d love for you to be a part of it. If you’re a student and would like to submit a reflection, contact Dr. Sabrina D. MisirHiralall at sabrinamisirhiralall@apaonline.org.
Dr. Sabrina D. MisirHiralall is an editor at the Blog of the APA who currently teaches philosophy, religion, and education courses solely online for Montclair State University, Three Rivers Community College, and St. John’s University.
