Josh Dolin is a fourth-year PhD student in the Department of Philosophy at the University of California, Irvine. Virtue epistemology, virtue ethics, and their application interest him.
What are you currently working on?
I’m writing a dissertation on the nature of intellectual vice, co-instructing a workshop for nursing scientists and nursing practitioners interested in philosophical concepts that bear on nursing theory and practice, teaching Introduction to Ethics at Chapman University, and drafting two papers – one in applied epistemology, the other in applied ethics.
What books are currently on your “to read” list?
Well, there’s an endless list of research-related books. But apart from that, I’d like to read a few books on which movies my spouse and I love are based, such as Upton Sinclair’s Oil! and Joanne Harris’s Chocolat. I’d also like to read a few books that bring philosophy and literature together, such as Stanley Cavell’s Disowning Knowledge (recommended to me by my advisor, Duncan Pritchard) and Martha Nussbaum’s Love’s Knowledge.
What are you reading now?
Jean Stafford’s Bad Characters, a book comprised of nine short stories and a novella – good stuff for anyone thinking about vice. I’m also rereading Dostoevsky’s Brothers Karamazov. So good. So painful.
What time of day are you most productive and creative?
Mornings, mostly. Now and then some (apparent) insight flashes through my mind at night.
What is your favorite quote?
It’s hard to favor just one. Let me instead share a quote that has stuck with me in recent years:
“Even in the midst of all the trouble we’re now in, even though no one knows which way to turn and which way to go, there still persists the notion that we must get there with ever greater speed…darting from flower to flower, without ever savoring the day.” ~E. B. White
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.
