Jeff Hawley graduated from University of Arizona with a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Philosophy at Rutgers-Camden. His research interests include Philosophy of Sound, Epicureanism, and Logical Positivism.
What excites you about philosophy?
Although it may sound cliché, the more philosophy I learn, the more I realize just how much I don’t know. This seemingly endless expanse of philosophical inquiries and new ideas is quite exciting to me. I am an adult learner and started my formal study of philosophy around the time I turned 40, so it is also rather enjoyable to revisit theories and concepts that I held decades ago in a fresh way.
What are you working on right now?
After spending a couple decades in the musical instrument and pro audio industry marketing products designed to produce and mix audio, I now find myself challenging many of the basic assumptions around just what sound is. I’ve had the pleasure of writing articles about various philosophical aspects of sound production and the ethics of marketing audio equipment in a number of music industry magazines. My current research revolves around Philosophy of Sound and the ways in which the question ‘where does sound occur?’ might be best answered. The related question of how we come to categorize ‘good’ sound and what this supposed goodness might represent is also of interest to me. Lastly, I am researching how the perception of sound has been described by various members of the Vienna Circle or how we might imagine they’d answer the ‘where does sound occur?’ question given their position on related topics.
What common philosophical dilemma do you think has a clear answer?
Although I am still in the early stages of my research on the topic, it does seem to me that much of our ordinary language around sound is philosophically sloppy. In some instances, we speak as if a sound is an object that occurs ‘over there.’ In other cases, we ‘hear’ voices in our head. Many professional audio engineers might describe their job as ‘steering’ sound wave events in the most optimal manner for a given venue. To borrow a phrase from Ayer, I think that in many ways we’ve been “duped by grammar” on the nature of sound and I am working toward finding a more workable, clear, and consistent conception of the question and/or our possible answers. I am hopeful that the results of this research will point to a clear way forward.
What is your favorite sound in the world?
As noted in my previous response, questions about sound are often fuzzy! My favorite sound that has occurred already? A sound in a possible future world that I would likely find to be highly enjoyable? I’d have to go with the sound of steady crashing waves on a remote beach as being my favorite sound in the world. Of course, Leibniz might argue that this answer is not actually pointing to a single sound, but to the roar of many overlapping and indiscernible sounds. So to be a bit pedantic, my favorite sound in the world is the combination of all sounds commonly heard in such a beach setting. Bonus answer: the person I’d least like to relax with on a beach is probably Leibniz.
If you could wake up tomorrow with a new talent, what would you most like it to be?
One of the reasons why the MALS program at Rutgers-Camden is so appealing to me is its interdisciplinary approach. I love spending a few days digging deep into Lucretius and Homer and then hopping over into Freud and Jung and finding ways in which their viewpoints on a given topic may bear upon Quine (and vice-versa). There is just so much out there to connect and play with across not just philosophy proper, but between philosophy and psychology, philosophy and mathematics, etc. that I can’t possibly retain it all. To that point, I’d love to wake up tomorrow with photographic memory and a sort of ‘embedded’ Zotero-like brain module so that I don’t miss these possible connections. I guess I’m hoping for an extreme and effective form of Chalmers and Clark’s extended mind thesis.
What are you reading right now? Would you recommend it?
I am quite excited to have recently kicked off a new series of articles for PhilosophyNews.com called ‘What’s Happening in Philosophy (WHiP)-The Philosophers’ in which I review and comment on new books and articles and news related to philosophers. The latest book I reviewed is ‘Why Machines Will Never Rule the World’ (2022) by Jobst Landgrebe and Barry Smith. I highly recommend it, especially if Nick Bostrom’s ‘Superintelligence’ (2015) keeps you up at night. I recently wrapped up reading and reviewing David Edmonds’ ‘The Murder of Professor Schlick: The Rise and Fall of the Vienna Circle’ (2020) and found it to be a very enjoyable and informative read. I’m also midway through Allan Janik and Stephen Toulmin’s ‘Wittgenstein’s Vienna’ (1973) and would also urge folks to check it out.
Who is your favorite philosopher and why?
I’d have to go with a tie between John Searle and A.J. Ayer. I think that both philosophers exude a sort of excitement and energy that comes through in their writing. There are certainly areas where I’d strongly disagree with their philosophical conclusions, but there is something about their methods and overall tone that is appealing to me.
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.
