Mercedes Corredor is currently finishing her PhD at the University of Michigan, where she is advised by Elizabeth Anderson. She is also currently a visiting scholar at the Prindle Institute for Ethics.
What is your favorite thing that you’ve written?
I always find that my favorite piece of writing is whichever one I’m currently in the process of writing. The paper I’m currently working on asks: how should feminists feel towards (and respond to) women who conform to norms of hyper-femininity? There are roughly two ways people go about responding to this question. Some argue that these behaviors are symptoms of a more general problem (a structural, patriarchal problem), which means that we should abstain from criticizing the women involved. Others think that criticism might be appropriate, at least some of the time, since there will be cases wherein the best explanation of a woman’s behavior (her conformity to hyper-femininity) will be something about “the woman herself”. My proposal is that there’s something important about having both views on the table (or, at least, about not being closed off as a matter of principle to having either view on the table). I suggest that upon catching ourselves forming hunches in one direction or the other, we should feel unsettled (with respect to what best explains the woman’s behavior). More than this, this process should go on indefinitely, such that we are always unsettled with respect to what is going on in these cases. I argue that there’s a way of empathizing with these women, which we owe them, which calls for this very type of suspension of judgement.
What are you working on right now?
In addition to the paper I discuss above, I’m also working on a couple of other papers that make up my dissertation. One of the papers argues that contrary to the orthodox view on anger, anger that is vindictive can serve moral ends (not merely despite but precisely because of its vindictiveness). The other paper I’m working on focuses on what I call “transitional moral contexts” which are contexts in which moral norms are unsettled in the sense that they are in the process of being negotiated by the moral community. I ask whether it is appropriate to make others feel shame for moral violations that occur in these contexts. I end up arguing that insofar as shaming others risks letting ourselves off the hook for our own moral failures that are similar in kind, we should steer clear of shame as a mechanism for moral transformation.
Who is your favorite philosopher and why?
Rohan Sud. Because even though he’s meh at philosophy, that booty won’t quit. Just kidding! (We’re married.) Simone de Beauvoir.
What are you reading right now? Would you recommend it?
On the non-fiction side I’ve been reading the new Simone de Beauvoir biography, Becoming Beauvoir. The biographer, Kate Kirkpatrick, did such a good job with it. Highly recommend! The last novel I read was Sally Rooney’s Beautiful World Where are You? and (sue me for adding to the Rooney discourse!) but I really enjoyed it. Here’s one of my favorite quotes from the book: “most of our attempts throughout human history to describe the difference between right and wrong have been feeble and cruel and unjust, but that the difference still remains – beyond ourselves, beyond each specific culture, beyond every individual person who has ever lived or died. And we spend our lives trying to know that difference and to live by it, trying to love other people instead of hating them, and there is nothing else that matters on the earth.” It reminds me of this other quote, by Bertrand Russell, that I really love: “I cannot see how to refute the arguments for the subjectivity of ethical values, but I find myself incapable of believing that all that is wrong with wanton cruelty is that I don’t like it.”
When did you last sing to yourself, or to someone else?
This morning when I sang a beautiful song to my dog: “Archie Parchie, where’d you get so fart-chie, Archie Fart-chie, where’d you get your farts?”
What is your favorite sound in the world?
Feet shuffling in leaves. Black-capped chickadees’ bird call. Buena Vista Social Club. Chopping vegetables. Head scratches. And Archie’s sleepy noises.
What technology do you wish the human race could discover/create/invent right now?
To me, the best feeling in the world is watching other people fall in love with the people I love. I wish there were a technology that allowed me to bottle that feeling up and save it for later.
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.
