Photo Credit: Laye Kerzazi
Huzeyfe Demirtas is a PhD candidate in philosophy at Syracuse University. He primarily works in normative ethics and moral responsibility, but also has interests in metaphysics, epistemology, classical Islamic philosophy, and political philosophy. He taught courses such as ethics, logic, happiness and meaning in life, free will, and theories of knowledge and reality.
What excites you about philosophy?
Many things. But I could mention three in particular. Philosophy raises interesting questions where there seems none. It provides you with the tools to genuinely think in a way that most other disciplines won’t or can’t. And it forces you to support your claims even when they seem “obviously” true.
What are you working on right now?
I have several papers in progress but two among them are the more immediate ones. The first one is a sort of spin-off of my dissertation work on moral responsibility. Here’s what the paper is about. It’s natural to think that one cannot be morally blameworthy for an action unless the action is morally wrong. There’s something odd about it to think that one should deserve to be blamed, resented, or punished even though one didn’t, say, break a promise, lie, steal anything, or hurt anyone. Consider that often when people are blamed, they’ll retort “I didn’t do anything wrong!” Many, but not all, philosophers agree—that wrongness is necessary for blameworthiness. Similarly, it’s natural to think that one cannot be praiseworthy for an action unless the action is morally right. I argue that all this is false. I construct a novel argument that one can be morally blameworthy for an action that’s morally right and praiseworthy for an action that’s morally wrong.
The second paper is about what’s called the collective harm problem. To illustrate, consider climate change. We all collectively contribute to its unwanted consequences. But individual actions seem inconsequential: One more or one less person taking a joyride in a gas-guzzler on a Sunday afternoon makes virtually no difference regarding these consequences. But then it’s unclear how there could be moral reasons, let alone duties, for individuals to act against climate change. This is a problem not only for consequentialist theories, but also for Kantian and virtue ethical theories for it’s unclear why it should be unfair, or unvirtuous, to take the joyride if it makes no difference. In response, many philosophers choose to argue that however miniscule individual contributions might be, they somehow still have moral significance. In my paper, I argue for a new solution to this problem. I argue that even if one’s action makes literally no difference regarding an outcome, let alone contributing to it insignificantly, there can still be moral reasons for (or against) that action.
What do you like to do outside work?
I love swimming! It’s more like an addiction for me, I suspect. I can dive underwater and swim around for up to two minutes without any equipment. Fascinating feeling—comes closest to flying I suppose. I picked up snowboarding last year and I’m now certainly glad that I didn’t give up after falling (more like crashing to the ground) some 300 times on the first day. It’s quite interesting to teach your body new tricks especially when you’re old enough to observe your progress. I also play video games. Arma III has been my favorite video game since I discovered it. As in my friend Jags would tell you that I hardly played anything else in the last two years.
What is your favorite film of all time? (Or top 3). Why? To whom would you recommend them?
“What’s your favorite x?” questions are tough for me. I typically have either none or more than a few. When it comes to movies, even “top 3” is difficult for me. But here they are.
1- Lord of the Rings (2001-2003). I won’t try to praise the movie. (Yes, it’s that great!) All I’ll say is that even if you don’t like the genre, you should give it a try. If you still don’t like it, you should probably give it another try.
2- Sicario (2015). Anything by Denis Villeneuve is worth watching, and many of his movies are just amazing. The story in the movie is very impressive but I’d watch the movie more because of ‘how’ it is told than ‘what’ it is about. If you like Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, or Benicio del Toro, that’s another reason to see Sicario. This is one of their best performances. Also, the sequel movie (Day of the Soldado) is just as good.
3- Bab’Aziz (2005). If there’s such a thing as writing a poem through film, this is it. With its multi-layered storyline, the movie presents tantalizing samples of some of the underemphasized and underexplored features of Islamic culture—primarily Sufism—such as its poetry, music, rites, tales, parables, and spiritual teachings. And the movie is visually stunning.
The music in movies tend to be underappreciated. In all the movies above, the soundtrack is superb on its own and none of these movies would have been remotely close to what they are without their soundtrack.
Where would you go in a time machine?
This is another tough question. But here’s one thing I’d do. I’d make a first stop in 1030s AD and pick up Ibn Sīnā (after whom I named one of my nephews, Ali Sina). Next stop would be in 320s BC to meet Aristotle. I suspect they’d be more excited to meet each other than meet me, but in a way that’s why I’m arranging the meeting. It would be most exciting to witness them have a long philosophical conversation. And that’s not because I think they have all the correct answers, but it would be like watching two extraordinary artists at work. It wouldn’t only be most pleasant to witness but I’d learn from it—a lot. (Don’t ask me how we’d overcome the language barrier. I doubt that Aristotle knew Arabic, and Ibn Sīnā likely didn’t know Greek and neither do I.)
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.
