Janelle Allyson Tandoc Gormley is a Ph.D. student at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Her research includes, but is not limited to, the intersection of metaphysics and epistemology with regard to friendship and moral psychology.
What excites you about philosophy?
If philosophy is understood as the “love of wisdom,” then what excites me about it is how my love for it manifests. It manifests in two ways: through the questioning of assumptions with an attempt to system-build, and through teaching skills. First, what excites me is that in loving some object (I know, controversial), I attend to it and continuously seek out ways to get better at the skill. I take philosophy to be like a skill in that I practice solving smaller problems so that I am in a position to frame larger puzzles like “what is friendship?” And what is cool about philosophy is that I can ask that question, even if sometimes I get some raised brows, but my fellow colleagues will still engage in a discussion with me. Even further, the ability to remain curious is what keeps me pumped about doing philosophy.
Through teaching, both in academic settings and informal settings, I am able to show both my students and people around me that even if philosophy is challenging, everyone is capable of puzzling through their schoolwork and personal lives by using the skills they’ve already developed. And seeing the light bulb moment go off for my friends, students, and acquaintances is great! For example, if I get a math student that knows how to do functions, I explain to them that sometimes analysis is like dealing with functions. With respect to my personal relationships, when my friends say less than kind things about themselves with respect to critical thinking, I find a way (and I couldn’t do this without my skill set from philosophy) to show them that they too, even minimally, can critically think. It is not just for “big brains.” One way I do this is to show my friends that in any given field or social situation, there is some way they (1) have some assumptions, and (2) from these assumptions some inferences are made. In seeing my friends realize that they too can perform one of these skills in philosophy, the light bulb moment goes off! So, what excites me about philosophy is that I am able to remain curious, and I am in a position to share something I love.
What’s your personal philosophy?
In assuming the definition of personal philosophy to be “personal guidelines,” then I have a few. The first is not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. The second is to try and not take everything so personally, specifically in interpersonal situations. I typically think about what kind of things have to be going on for certain things to be options, and surprisingly, it helps me take things less personally. And one more is to advocate for myself. I learned this from a friend. Advocating for oneself manifests in many forms. Two big ways are to always ask for help when you are lost, and to always respect and maintain your own boundaries and those of other people.
What do you like to do outside work?
Outside of work I typically do some of the following: (1) Draw/paint, (2) play video games, (3) play disc golf (I jokingly call it frisbee soccer), (3) have some form of social activity, usually some version of an eating situation is happening.
Recently, I have gotten into art and video games. While I am not good at either, I try my very best.
What time of day are you most productive and creative?
The mornings, bright and early, are when I am the most creative. By the time afternoon rolls around, my attention span wanes like the moon.
What would your childhood self say if someone told you that you would grow up to be a philosopher?
My childhood self would be bamboozled that it was possible to be a professional question asker. But if someone approached her and said, “Janelle, you will pursue philosophy when you grow up,” she would first say, “what’s philosophy,” and then continuously ask the person from the future various questions, including, “how did you get here if you’re from the future.” The evidence I have for this is that when I was five, I asked my parents where babies came from. Of course, my mom said, “when you get married,” and then a few days later I asked when my parents got married. They got married in 1992, and I was born in 1991, so I proceeded to say, “but if you were married in 1992, where did I come from. You told me babies came from when you’re married.” Needless to say, my career of trying to make sense of things did not stop there! So, she would probably be relieved.
In what ways have the skills in philosophy shaped how you operate outside of academia?
For me, I know that I get reports that my skills are both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, I often think about things a lot, allowing me to be more empathetic toward people. In other ways, I sometimes forget that maybe asking too many questions is inappropriate for the context I am in, or that having feelings is fine.
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.
