Henry Curtis is a Ph.D. candidate in philosophy at the University at Albany, SUNY primarily focusing on bioethics. Prior to his studies in Albany, he received a M.S. in bioethics from Columbia University and a B.A. in philosophy from Marist College. Outside of work, he spends too much time watching baseball and making playlists on Spotify.
What excites you about philosophy?
Philosophy to me represents a blend of what I’ve really wanted out of life. An average day can start with a lecture to a group of students hoping to shape future minds into being better, more inquisitive people and end with an hour-plus discussion with my fellow graduate students about whether or not the ceiling counts as a wall (it does). Working in this field allows me to tackle socially important topics in a critical way that can hopefully shape the world for the better while also exploring weird, particular questions just for the fun of it. I can’t imagine doing anything else.
What is your favorite thing that you’ve written?
Definitely my first publication for a few reasons. First, I was able to coauthor it with a good friend of mine, Joe Milner. As a bioethicist, it was really exciting to be able to tackle an issue in medicine with a physician that is just as interested in important ethical questions as I am. Second, it really represented a change in my writing style. I feel like this paper was where I shifted from writing things just to submit for a grade to writing papers as a professional. Now that it’s been cited a couple of times, I’m really starting to feel like an actual academic.
What are you working on right now?
My dissertation, slowly but surely. As anyone who has seen my work knows, I’m pretty bad at titles, so we’re waiting on that for a bit, but it’s focused on pharmaceutical ethics. More specifically, the project is shaping up to be a collection of papers on applied topics concerning the difficulty that people in the United States have accessing prescription medication and other pharmaceuticals, ranging from how those who are struggling to afford insulin have dealt with price increases and product shortages to problems with the distribution and utilization of COVID-19 vaccines (hopefully a publication here forthcoming). My current task is a discussion about how the current system of intellectual property patenting for pharmaceutical companies is one of the main culprits behind the problem and what we should do about it as a society. I’m really excited about this project, both because I think this is an important discussion that I’m glad I get to have a potential impact on and because it’s my dissertation and it’d be pretty unfortunate if I was writing about something I wasn’t interested in.
What’s your favorite sound?
The last swell of strings in Faust Arp by Radiohead (As much music nerd cred as I might lose from this, In Rainbows is still my favorite Radiohead album, with Amnesiac as my sleeper pick).
What would your childhood self say if someone told you that you would grow up to be a philosopher?
It’s unfortunate that the Yankees couldn’t offer me a contract, but the fact that I’m getting paid to think about things in a productive way and then talk about those things with a lot of different people is pretty awesome.
What time of day are you most productive and creative?
About an hour after my Adderall kicks in. I was somewhat recently diagnosed with ADHD. After talking with a psychiatrist about struggles with attentiveness and motivation to work, I got a prescription and it was like night and day. I’m really glad I spoke with a mental health professional and can’t recommend enough for others to do the same.
What’s your favorite quote?
My favorite quote is a piece of advice I got from Dan Callahan from a talk he gave at Columbia while I was working on my M.S. there. I asked him what he thought the role of the philosopher was in modern bioethics. He told me that the philosopher in bioethics needs to be a jack of all trades and have interest in everything. I’ve taken that to heart and tried to maintain a diverse range of knowledge in topics in the field.
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.
