Derek Estes is a joint PhD student in Saint Louis University’s Department of Philosophy and Albert Gnaegi Center for Health Care Ethics. He focuses primarily on bioethics and philosophy of religion. His dissertation is about the nature of human dignity.
What excites you about philosophy?
Call me old-school, but it is the possibility that through philosophy I might gain wisdom. Our profession is one that valorizes incisive argumentation, logical puzzle-solving, and critical evaluation, and no doubt these are all important to be a good philosopher. But it is easy to forget that these abilities are all tools—that they are not ends in themselves but are only instruments meant to aid us in our search for wisdom. Now, don’t get me wrong; I’m an analytic philosopher who loves a good philosophical puzzle or devastating critique as much as the next person. Like every other philosopher I know, I’ve certainly had the experience of being thrilled by the feeling of writing a tightly-argued paper or by the feeling of waking up in the middle of the night with an idea that I (usually incorrectly) thought might solve a vexing question in philosophy. But at least speaking personally, it is during the times when I get too sucked in to CV-building, publication-obsession, or myopic argumentation that I begin to feel burnout. When I feel most alive are the times when the skills I have developed through studying philosophy allow me insight—however small or incremental it is—into what it means to live life well. I find it is always good for me to remember that, at its best, philosophy is both a method and a habit of mind that enables us to live better, more flourishing lives. When it is not that, it is no longer philosophy, but sophistry.
What are you most proud of in your professional life?
At the moment, it is my teaching. I love reading and writing philosophy, but my primary motivation for wanting a PhD in philosophy has always been that I want to teach it. There’s something electrifying about seeing a student become passionate about philosophy or seeing their eyes light up when they suddenly understand a topic in a way that had previously eluded them. This is part of what made SLU appealing to me; there is an equal emphasis here on being an excellent teacher as there is on being an excellent researcher. This past year I have been teaching my own courses for the first time (Intro to Ethics) and the feedback so far has been very positive. That has been extremely rewarding to me.
What are you working on right now?
Right now I’m working on my dissertation, which is broadly in the area of bioethics. In short, my dissertation is a defense and account of the notion of human dignity. A number of bioethicists (plus, recently, Alastair MacIntyre) have argued that the notion of human dignity is an inherently ambiguous concept and potentially even a vacuous one. Critics point to things like the discourse about death with dignity and conclude that if a concept can be used by parties on both sides of a debate to justify mutually exclusive conclusions, there must be something wrong with the concept itself. I disagree though; I think dignity is neither inherently ambiguous nor vacuous, despite the way it is used in disagreements about physician-assisted death. My dissertation is therefore an account of what I think dignity really is, what it means to violate or promote it, who has it, and what it is that inheres a person with it. Right now, the project is still in its preliminary stages, but I have great mentors like Jason Eberl, Jeff Bishop, and Eleonore Stump who have all helped guide me in the right direction. I’m excited to see where it all leads!
What do you like to do outside work?
Well, I have a wife and a 3-year-old son whom I love spending time with. My wife and I are both academics, so we enjoy talking shop together and discussing our latest research interests. We also like to go on walks in local parks, travel to new places, and to try new restaurants and food. With my son I enjoy playing on the playground at the park, reading books together, and talking about the things that excite him, which lately means lots of talk about trains. As a family we love road trips, camping, and visiting family. Personally, my main hobby these days is chess. It was the pandemic hobby I picked up (we all had one, didn’t we?), and I’ve been pretty serious about it for a little over a year now. I would say I’m decent at it at this point, but I’d like to get good enough to where I can make a respectable showing in local tournaments or be a chess coach in the event that my son decides he wants to play one day. I’m also a former collegiate soccer player, so I still try to play in pick-up games every now and then when I’m able.
What’s your favorite quote?
“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” – Rabindranath Tagore
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.
