Claire Field is a philosopher working in epistemology and ethics, and a postdoctoral research fellow at the AHRC-funded project Varieties of Risk. Currently, her research interests include rationality, incoherence, recklessness, higher-order uncertainty, logical normativity, and the philosophy of neurodiversity.
What excites you about philosophy?
I’d like to say something noble about how I find philosophy exciting because I love wisdom or want to use the power of logic to make the world a better place. While these things are good, if I’m honest, what I really love about philosophy is solving puzzles and arguing against people who I think are wrong.
I first got into philosophy at school through a religious studies class. Back then, I didn’t know what philosophy was, but in religious studies we spent lots of time learning about views that seemed totally crazy to me—like that abortion was wrong, or that God existed necessarily. It made me angry that people thought these crazy things, and I discovered that I really liked arguing against them and learning how to argue against them more effectively. It was fun, and I felt like I was acquiring a new power.
This was so exciting that I started an undergraduate degree in theology. I quickly realized that I didn’t care very much about how or whether Jesus could become man or have relationships with Christians today. Luckily, within a year I stumbled upon philosophy. I ended up attending some lectures on mereology ,and found the puzzles more exciting than anything I had studied before. I never looked back.
What are you working on right now?
Too many things! Right now, the main thing I’m working on is a paper about the epistemic value of incoherence. It is usually thought of as paradigmatically irrational, and to be avoided if possible. I’m exploring some of the positive things about it. I think it has some epistemic benefits—particularly for non-ideal beings in a non-ideal world. For example, if you follow too many weird links on Facebook, you might end up believing some very strange things. If you try to maintain coherence, that will only make things worse. However, noticing incoherence between what you believe and what you think you should believe can help signal a need for further, and perhaps different, inquiry.
What topic do you think is under explored in philosophy?
Neurodiversity—the idea that there are different, non-defective ways of thinking about the world. Many of these different ways of thinking have been medicalized and treated as disorders, but the neurodiversity movement advocates for accepting them and treating them as we would other aspects of human diversity, such as race, gender, or sexuality. Although it’s received quite a bit of attention from psychologists, I think there are a number of avenues for philosophers to explore, and I’m really excited to see how this area develops in the near future. I recently wrote some papers on the implications of this for moral theories of praiseworthiness and blameworthiness (see here and here), and now I’m working on a new project exploring some of the implications of neurodiversity for theories of rationality. I think neurodiversity almost certainly has other interesting implications for any philosophical theories that rely on general claims about human cognition.
What are your goals and aspirations outside work?
I’d like to be a better rock climber. For me right now, that mostly means conquering my fear of falling. I recently injured my knee while bouldering, and I’ve only recently started climbing again. I’ve found that my muscle strength hasn’t taken too long to come back, but it has been much harder to regain the mental strength needed to overcome fear. I’m finding that, even when I know that it’s safe to fall, I still find it really hard to push myself to climb difficult routes on lead. I find it really difficult to explain what exactly I’m afraid of. I know I’m safe, but somehow the idea of falling is just really scary. I’d really like to get over this fear so that I can climb harder routes.
What is your favorite sound in the world?
Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells played on LP, all the way through. Also, the squeaky sound that coots make when excited.
What do you like to do outside work?
I like being outside. One thing I love about living in Scotland is how close the outdoors is. I grew up in the Midlands, where I was always very far from the mountains and the sea, and I love now being able to get to both so easily. One of my favorite things to do is jump in the North Sea and then instantly regret it.
What are you reading right now? Would you recommend it?
I’m reading a book called Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov. Oblomov never does anything, because he has to think everything through before he begins. It is worryingly relatable, and very funny. A very good friend who knows me too well gave it to me for my birthday over a year ago, and I have only just gotten around to reading it. I would recommend it to anyone who struggles with procrastination.
I’m also reading The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben. It contains a lot of fascinating facts about how trees communicate (more than we thought), and it is making me very uncomfortable. I’m used to thinking of eating plants as a completely morally safe option, but now I’m much less sure about that!
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.
