Britta Clark is a third-year PhD student at Harvard University. She received a BA in Environmental Studies and Philosophy from Bates College, and an MA in Philosophy from the University of Otago in New Zealand. She works primarily on intergenerational justice and climate change ethics.
What are you working on right now?
I’m working on writing my prospectus, a document that articulates the “appropriately sized”question I hope to answer in my dissertation and builds a case for the importance of that question.
At the moment I’m thinking through whether intergenerational justice requires or permits growth (or de-growth) along various dimensions. Suppose, for instance, it is presently impossible to continue to allow everyone endless beef consumption without either overrunning our carbon budget or failing to respect some even more important claim. At present, then, you might think that individuals are not entitled to consume as much beef as they can possibly afford. However, it may also be true that individuals were previously entitled to such consumption, and it may well also be the case that with a de-carbonized industrial agriculture system, they will be entitled to consume their daily burgers once again at some point in the future. I wonder whether individualsnow have a rightful claim to in the future be rightful entitled to those burgers. Though many have offered explanations as to why or how such “progress” or “growth” (if you want to call it that) occurs, I’m more interested in the question of whether and under what circumstances we ought to pursue such growth, and how such growth is properly understood. But I’m still in the early stages of formulating a dissertation topic, so all is in flux! (And if you’re interested in this stuff, I love talking about it so don’t hesitate to reach out!)
What excites you about philosophy?
We spend a lot of time thinking about what to do with our lives: where to travel, work, volunteer; whether to go bungee jumping or visit Switzerland. But I am just as concerned about living a life where I think interesting and exciting (and, hopefully sometimes true) things. Selfishly, being involved in philosophy ensures that my mind will never be a boring place to inhabit. It might be a confused, tumultuous, and caffeinated place, but it will never be dull. The moment when some previously incomprehensible idea (yours or someone else’s) finally “clicks” in your mind is maybe the internal version of a bungee jump, and I want my mind to be full of those moments.
Perhaps less selfishly, I believe that the philosophical project of examining our assumptions and the way we reason to our conclusions is, if done right, an important part of living better together. This is what motivates my work on climate change and intergenerational justice: a lot of climate policy in particular is formed on the basis of mistaken or misguided assumptions that we should not let idly shape the future of human/planetary life.
What would your childhood self say if someone told you that you would grow up to be a philosopher?
I asked my mom about this question to ensure accuracy. Her response: “Well, I don’t know if your childhood self would know what it was so after hearing about it, maybe described in simplistic terms as a thinker, you might have said: I already am that!” This seems right. I only wish that I could have maintained such unwavering confidence in myself as a thinker through graduate school!
What time of day are you most productive and creative?
I’m decisively a morning person. People in my life know about my precious ‘brain hours’ between 5-9 am. It’s all downhill from there, really.
What are your goals and aspirations outside work?
Since after college I’ve discovered that I love running long distances. One thing I want to do is run a 100 mile race before I finish my PhD. There is something remarkably similar about the seemingly endless task of running 100 miles and the task of completing a dissertation: to finish either my sense is that one must just be comfortable persisting through uncertainty with no end in sight, and probably be one’s own cheerleader at times.
What cause or charity do you care about most?
Large scale, I care about a just transition away from fossil fuels.
More personally, I am deeply invested in the Blueberry Hill Outdoor Center, the non-profit that my parents manage in the middle of the woods in Vermont.
I also am involved with organizing the Harvard Minorities and Philosophy chapter at Harvard. I think it’s incredibly important that the discipline of philosophy moves beyond its long history of exclusion and racism, and I’m proud to play a tiny role in that work.
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.
