Sam Berstler is currently thinking about the nature, dynamics, and ethics of conversation. She is the inaugural Desai Family Postdoctoral Research Associate and Lecturer at Princeton University. In Fall 2021, she will join the MIT philosophy department as an Assistant Professor.
What are you working on right now?
Currently I’m trying to give an account of conversations in which one interlocutor intentionally misinterprets the other. In the most interesting kinds of cases, the misinterpretation is “out in the open.” It’s totally obvious to both parties that the meaning came through loud and clear. But the hearer still pretends that the speaker meant something that she didn’t.
There’s an annoying childhood joke that shares a basic structure with these cases. The joker says, “Pete and Repeat sat on a bench. Pete fell off. Who was left?” The respondent replies, “Repeat,” meaning, the guy named Repeat was left on the bench. It’s obvious to everybody what the respondent means. But the joker intentionally misinterprets the answer as a request. She launches into the spiel again: “Pete and Repeat sat on a bench. Pete fell off. Who was left?” Rinse, repeat.
I think we use this strategy of “obvious misinterpretation” for a wide range of purposes—from covering up awkward faux pas to humiliating and dominating our interlocutor.
Name a trait, skill or characteristic that you have that others may not know about.
I’ve read Hrafnkels saga in the original Old Norse-Icelandic. Highlights: a sacred horse, the Medieval equivalent of a courtroom drama, and casual murders.
Before I converted to philosophy (which was not that long ago), I was actually studying to become a scholar of early Medieval literature. The Icelandic sagas are long-form prose, but they were composed hundreds of years before the novel emerged in western Europe. I had a particular interest in their depiction of feud, because (1) it was cool; (2) I was overexposed to Lord of the Rings as a kid; (3) feud, unexpectedly, is a form of social cooperation that curbs male-on-male violence.
Some days I still miss Medieval studies. But truthfully, I didn’t have the patience to become a Medievalist. That stuff is hard.
What would your childhood self say if someone told you that you would grow up to be a philosopher?
I had zero ambition to become a philosopher as a child. I wanted to write fantasy blockbusters. So I think my childhood self would have been disappointed in adult me. But adult me thinks I have the best job in the world.
If you could have a one-hour conversation with any philosopher or historical figure from any time, who would you pick and what topic would you choose?
Leibniz, and we’d talk about monads. Mostly because I think his metaphysics is hilarious.
What time of day are you most productive and creative?
Midnight to 3 am. There’s something ethereal about philosophizing when the rest of the world is asleep.
What is your favorite book of all time?
Shakespeare’s Hamlet. I read it as a moody fifteen-year-old, and it just really worked for me. I went to my own Sweet Sixteen party dressed as the Prince of Denmark, so I guess that qualifies me as a Hamlet superfan.
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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.
http://blog.apaonline.org/2018/10/18/philosophy-in-the-contemporary-world-the-banality-of-rumor/
In support.