Phil Groth is a Ph.D. Candidate in the philosophy department at UC Santa Cruz, working on philosophy of mind & perception, and epistemology. He received his B.A. in philosophy from George Fox University in 2018.
What are you most proud of in your professional life?
Last year I had a wonderful opportunity to work with The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz to design and teach an undergraduate course on imagination. As part of the Andrew W. Mellon funded “Expanding Humanities Impact and Publics” project, I received a grant to cooperate with two other humanities grad students to design a brand new interdisciplinary syllabus. We then taught our own courses in the Spring, using that syllabus. I think the class went great. We had some wonderful discussions about philosophical problems with imagining the experiences of other people. We also talked about the role of imagination in planning for a future, for example in the context of Black radical thought and abolition. I was also very pleased with my student’s papers and creative projects at the end of the course. They turned in a range of cool reflections, ranging from argumentative papers to vector art, a rap song, paintings, and other. It was my first time being an instructor for a course, so it was a fantastic next step into pedagogy. I also moved to candidacy in my program recently, so I’m quite proud of that as well.
What are you working on right now?
Since I’m still in the early stages of working on my dissertation, most of my work is figuring out what exactly I want to work on. I’m mostly interested in questions regarding inference and intuition. I’m particularly drawn to distinguishing intuitions and inferences from other cognitive transitions, and I am drawn to the question of the role of intuition in rationality. Secondly, I’m curious how that relates to perception. I became interested in these questions first when reading Susanna Siegel’s The Rationality of Perception. There are attractive aspects of her view, but I’m skeptical of some of the details. She makes an interesting argument that perception itself can be a rational process and that perceptions can be conclusions of inferences. In the process, however, she uses the notion of inference in a quite unconventional way. I found myself skeptical of her use of that term. I thought that it makes it so that we can’t distinguish between inferences and other kinds of cognitive transitions, especially intuitions. This, I think, has consequences for how we think about rationality more generally. The paper I wrote for my qualifying exam was in large part my attempt to problematize Siegel’s approach and help me further my interest and understanding of those issues. I’m currently revising that paper so that I can say something more broadly about inference and intuition, beyond my skepticism for Siegel’s ideas and get more direction for my dissertation.
Who do you think is the most overrated / underrated philosopher?
This might upset some people, but I think Socrates is overrated. Don’t get me wrong – I love reading the dialogues. But some people take the gadfly thing too seriously. I’ve ran into too many people who have read the Apology and think of themselves as this Socrates-like figure. They turn every conversation into an argument in which they try to one-up everyone else. This very rarely results in a productive discussion.
When thinking about underrated philosophers, one name usually comes to mind for me and that is Philippa Foot. I’m not an ethicist but, like most philosophers, I have a certain interest in ethics, living well, and morality. Most normative systems I know about either are very counter-intuitive for me, or seem wrong for one reason or another. Foot’s Natural Goodness is the most convincing framework for me. I think it provides the language necessary for people with various backgrounds, beliefs, and religions to have a productive discussion about morality, even if they come out with different convictions.
What is your least favorite type of fruit and why?
Bananas. I despise them with a burning passion. The taste. The texture. The smell. All of it.
What’s your most treasured memory?
I bought a motorcycle as soon as I moved out of my parents’ house. I didn’t tell them about it because I knew my mother would be panicked over it. Eventually my parents found out and, while my mom was very unhappy, my dad thought it was cool and taught himself to ride a motorcycle as well. I went to visit them in Poland one summer and dad and I borrowed two motorcycles and went for a ride in the beautiful Polish mountains. We rode through small towns and forest roads and then had coffee and cake in the stunning town of Zakopane. This is one of the memories that puts a smile on my face whenever I remember my late father and what a wonderful person he was.
When did you last sing to yourself, or to someone else?
I always wanted to sing, but I’m very self conscious about my voice. This year my friend asked me to sing the Happy Birthday song in Polish to her, and I could not make myself do it. I then decided that I will start practicing singing in my car while driving. I hope to get confident (and good) enough to sing the Happy Birthday song in Polish for her on her Birthday in October. So, to answer your question, I just sang to myself this morning on my commute.
What would your childhood self say if someone told you that you would grow up to be a philosopher?
“That makes sense.”
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.
