Harry Chalmers received his Ph.D. from Brown University in 2019 and is currently a private tutor. He mainly works in metaethics and philosophy of sex, love, and friendship.
What excites you about philosophy?
For me, the most exciting aspect of philosophy has always been the hope of discovering more about moral value. In fact, I remember the moment I first became interested in studying philosophy: I was in high school, reading a course catalogue for an upcoming summer academic camp, and one of the course titles I stumbled upon was “Ethics and Value Theory.” Something about the title drew me in immediately. Before reading it, I hadn’t quite realized that there’s an entire field devoted to the study of “deep” questions about values. I decided to enroll in the class, and I ended up greatly enjoying it. Since then, moral value has continued to fascinate me.
Of course, I say all this with the awareness that there might well be no such thing as moral value — in which case I’d be sad! Still, even if I were to become a moral nihilist, I believe that my interest in philosophy would continue (though perhaps in a somewhat reduced form).
What are you working on right now?
My main project at the moment is a response to Kyle York’s Why Monogamy Is Morally Permissible: A Defense of Some Common Justifications for Monogamy. (York’s paper is itself a response to my Is Monogamy Morally Permissible?) I find this debate a lot of fun, and I think that it also serves as a nice example of how philosophy can bear very directly on questions about how we should navigate our personal lives. Right now the project is requiring me to wade through the empirical literature on jealousy, which, to be honest, can be a bit of a slog; whenever I need to take a detour through empirical literature for a project, it’s as if a part of my mind is always telling me, “Okay, surely that’s enough? Let’s get back to the philosophy!” But, of course, I do tend to find that the time spent was worth it in the end.
Which books have changed your life? In what ways?
Two books come immediately to mind here, both by Carl Rogers. The first is Freedom to Learn, which profoundly influenced my thinking about education. It was this book that sparked my interest in ways of giving students more freedom in their courses. In addition to giving various case studies of nontraditional pedagogy done well, the book explores the principles underlying them and connects them to Rogers’s own views of human nature. It’s a book that I believe would interest and challenge anyone who teaches.
The second book is On Becoming a Person. When I read this as an undergrad, I remember feeling that it was the first book to make me think seriously about human nature. It also convinced me to view human nature as essentially positive—and, in particular, to view the bad things humans do not as reflections of human nature in its true, unveiled form, but as reflections of what happens when human nature is distorted and denied.
What do you like to do outside work?
One of my favorite things to do is going on walks and playing with any cats I come across.
I’ve also always enjoyed video games; some favorites include Super Smash Bros., Hollow Knight, and Apex Legends.
Recently I’ve also been learning video editing. While advanced video editing programs tend to have a steep learning curve, I’ve been enjoying the process so far. I also think that well-produced videos are a very promising medium for doing public philosophy; one of my goals is to explore this more as I learn more about video editing.
I don’t watch much TV, but when I do, it’s usually Star Trek.
What books are currently on your “to read” list?
One book on my reading list is C. Thi Nguyen’s Games: Agency as Art. It’s been good to see the philosophical issues around games get more attention in recent years, and I know that many have found Nguyen’s recent book to be a thoughtful exploration thereof.
There have also been several books recently released about political polarization, another interest of mine. Books in this vein that I look forward to reading are Kevin Vallier’s Trust in a Polarized Age, Robert B. Talisse’s Overdoing Democracy, and Scott F. Aikin’s and Robert B. Talisse’s Political Argument in a Polarized Age.
What’s your favorite quotation?
“I can’t help but dream about a kind of criticism that would not try to judge, but bring an oeuvre, a book, a sentence, an idea to life; it would light fires, watch the grass grow, listen to the wind, and catch the sea-foam in the breeze and scatter it. It would multiply, not judgments, but signs of existence; it would summon them, drag them from their sleep. Perhaps it would invent them sometimes—all the better. All the better. Criticism that hands down sentences sends me to sleep; I’d like a criticism of scintillating leaps of the imagination. It would not be a sovereign or dressed in red. It would bear the lightning of possible storms.” -Michel Foucault
This section of the APA Blog is designed to get to know our fellow philosophers a little better. We’re including profiles of APA members that spotlight what captures their interest not only inside the office, but also outside of it. We’d love for you to be a part of it, so please contact us via the interview nomination form here to nominate yourself or a friend.
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.
