Matthew J. Delhey is a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto, where he works on German idealism and critical social theory. He completed an MA in Philosophy at Georgia State University in 2018.
What excites you about philosophy?
At its best, philosophy addresses itself to us: who we are, how we got here, and where we’d like to go. Admittedly, these are questions common to all the human and social sciences. But philosophy stands out, in my view, not only because it provides systematic answers to foundational questions but also because it portrays the historical conflict and development of what counts as fundamental, either as expressed in philosophical texts or as embodied in traditions and forms of life. In short, it shows us how our answers to foundational questions constitute a part of our self-understanding. Philosophy excites me most, then, when it performs an unexpected act of retrieval: when it recovers a way of thinking which, while undeniably a part of our tradition, seems alien to us today—a path untaken. These forgotten ideas can, in turn, form the basis for new forms of self-understanding or new means of addressing contemporary problems. In this respect, I’m inspired by the holistic and historical approaches to philosophy found most recently in Charles Taylor, Alasdair MacIntyre, and Richard Rorty, among others.
What are you working on right now?
I’m currently working on my dissertation, provisionally entitled Hegel’s Critique of Reciprocity. I’m aiming to show that the now-common view of reading Hegel as a thinker of reciprocity is misguided and that Hegel instead levies a thorough-going critique of reciprocity in both theoretical and practical philosophy. A proper understanding of Hegel’s reciprocity critique will, I suggest, also help us progress beyond some of the dead-ends in the critical-theoretical debates surrounding social holism, reciprocal recognition, and social critique.
What topic do you think is under explored in philosophy?
Technology. While the discipline is changing quickly, the nature and significance of technological phenomena (digitality, computation, data, compression, algorithms, etc.) remain relatively underexplored by philosophers. Of course, philosophy has long held a prejudice against the merely technical aspects of human life. But even as we overturn this prejudice today, we should take care to examine technology historically and conceptually, avoiding the trap of adopting an exclusively normative perspective that takes the nature of technology as given. In this respect, philosophy has been outpaced by the work on technology in other disciplines. But there remains a need, I think, for philosophy which takes technology seriously.
What time of day are you most productive and creative?
I’m most creative in the late morning, right around 10 a.m. Especially with a large cup of coffee.
What do you like to do outside work?
It’s a bit cliché, but I enjoy listening to and discovering new music. I certainly spend more time searching around on Discogs than I care to admit. A recent dig for anyone out there into jazz: Harumi Takeuchi’s For Sons. It’s excellent!
What are you reading right now? Would you recommend it?
I’m reading Thomas Kuhn’s Structure of Scientific Revolutions. It’s a classic, and, as I’m learning, for a good reason. I also recently finished Cedric Robinson’s magisterial Black Marxism. Both are highly recommended!
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.
