Celia Edell is finishing her doctorate in philosophy at McGill University. She works in social philosophy with focus on feminist social epistemologies.
What excites you about philosophy?
What excites me about philosophy is it never stops asking questions. Philosophy is like a child who keeps asking “why?” no matter how many answers you give her. I can relate to that, and I love the way philosophy is comfortable not having a definitive answer or end to the questions. I’m excited to tell my students, we won’t conclusively answer these questions, but we will work on the tools to ask them meaningfully and explore possible answers. And most of all, we will be critical of the given answers.
Philosophy – and feminist philosophy in particular – has taught me that nothing is off limits when it comes to questioning. We can (and should) question every assumption, every norm, every value – some will stand up to our questioning, but others will reveal themselves to serve systems of inequality and oppression. It feels exciting to do this kind of questioning, like the end of a Scooby Doo episode when they reveal who is really under the mask. Teaching feminist philosophy is exciting and rewarding because I get to witness these moments of revelation and continue to have my own moments through the contributions of my students. Everything we take for granted is filtered through concepts and assumptions we hold, and philosophy has the power to hold these concepts and assumptions up to scrutiny.
There’s always more to question, more we don’t know. Sometimes it feels like almost everything has already been said, but other times, it feels like there is an entire horizon of questions that extend beyond what we’ve even thought to ask. That’s exciting.
What topic do you think is under explored in philosophy?
Scapegoating, the topic of my dissertation, is surprisingly undertheorized in philosophy.
My thesis explores scapegoating, or the unwarranted attribution of moral responsibility onto an individual or group, as it relates to oppression. We blame the same groups again and again for societal ills from contagion to unemployment. My intuition is that there is a social function that these patterns of blame play in maintaining oppression. Yet, while it has been well theorized explored in other fields (e.g., theology, anthropology, psychology) scapegoating has remained relatively under explored in philosophy. That’s not to say it’s been entirely overlooked. Jean-Paul Sartre’s Anti-Semite and Jew arguably offers a theoretical discussion of what we might call scapegoating; Frantz Fanon describes a racial ‘redistribution’ of guilt in Black Skin, White Masks, but neither develop a theory of scapegoating itself. This is what led to my thesis topic: an ameliorative theory of scapegoating that explores a relevant philosophical purpose for the scapegoat concept and develops a conceptual theory suited for that purpose. I argue that to understand the way oppression endures, we need to understand how we are structurally encouraged to avoid blame and responsibility by ascribing it to certain groups for certain problems. My thesis aims to construct a theory of scapegoating that can illuminate this social function in its most hidden places.
Beyond my thesis topic, I think philosophy can tell us a lot about the social dynamics of the internet. This is an area that’s been picking up steam, and I’m excited to see how it develops alongside our fast-changing virtual world. I’m especially interested in what philosophy can add to conversations about accountability online. The internet has forever changed how we communicate and relate to one another, so I’m invested in how philosophical exploration can help us do better as social creatures on social networks.
What are you working on right now?
Of course, I’m trying to finish my thesis. This is priority number one!
As an extension of my thesis work, I’m writing a paper that focuses on scapegoating specifically in the context of contagion. As I theorize it, scapegoating is dynamic and shifts to fit conceptions of contagion and the racist norms of the time. This is unfortunately relevant to our current situation, and I hope to help explain what’s going wrong and how it’s connected to past threads of blame, such that we can do more to counter its harms.
I’m also teaching an advanced undergraduate course on Feminist Epistemologies of Ignorance. I designed the syllabus and I’m learning so much from my students. As a graduate fellow at the Centre for Research in Ethics, I’m also co-organizing a conference on the precarity of living through ecological and health crises, to take place in April. And I’m finishing a book chapter on white ignorance and the racial imaginary for a book on The Philosophy of Imagination (forthcoming).
What are you reading right now? Would you recommend it?
I’m reading Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo. I would recommend it. It’s a dynamic and contemporary read, and easily touches on so many complicated issues at once. Evaristo writes in an experimental style that is so different from the philosophy I read all day, but the deeper questions she wrestles with are the same.
What do you like to do outside work?
I walk a lot; it helps me think and keeps me grounded. If the weather in Montreal permitted it, I would go for a long walk every day! In the winter I do a lot of puzzles. I also watch an excessive amount of TV and movies.
What is your favorite film of all time? (Or top 3). Why?
Picking only three is too hard! How about five of my favorites? (I told you I watch an excessive amount).
Spirited Away (2001): It’s so hard to pick my favorite Studio Ghibli film because they’re all incredible. Miyazaki is easily one of the greatest filmmakers ever. Every film he creates is so visually imaginative, yet poignantly captures the fears and pains of our world. Spirited Away is gorgeous and bizarre coming-of-age story that captures the innocence of growing up in a world plagued by a dark underbelly of gluttony and greed.
Get Out (2017): This movie blew me away the first time I saw. It’s original, political, intelligent, funny, visually stunning. It’s terrifying and timely.
Night of the Hunter (1955): A tense and unsettling depiction of evil and the power of manipulation. An abuser charms an unsuspecting parent, every authority that is meant to protect the vulnerable (law, religion, society) is used to destroy them. Double meanings everywhere. There’s so much to unpack!
Best in Show (2000): I quote this movie constantly. I saw it on my ninth birthday, and it went right over my head, but have rewatched it countless times since and plan to watch it countless more. It’s so damn funny.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004): I saw this as a teenager, and it changed the way I thought about movies. It asks philosophical questions I had never considered: if you could erase painful memories, would you? What would that mean for your other memories? For your self? I think this movie, and others like it, were part of what prompted me toward philosophy. I couldn’t get enough of these deep, unanswerable questions. I still can’t.
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.
