Zeinab Rabii is a Ph.D. candidate in philosophy at the University of Missouri–Columbia. As a solo instructor, she has taught different courses on ethics to undergraduates at the University of Missouri and Westminster College. Soon she will be teaching a course on Islamic philosophy at Westminster College. Her research interests are in epistemology, ethics, philosophy of action, and Islamic philosophy. In her dissertation research she focuses on self-deception and epistemic blame.
What excites you about philosophy?
To me philosophy is exciting, since it questions your fundamental assumptions, and this leads you to reflect on your thoughts more deeply. Philosophy makes you see the world from a more precise perspective that may be different than what you have taken for granted. Analogously, what philosophers do is similar to what, for instance, photographers do. Photographers capture special moments that many people may not see at first glance. I think philosophers do the same but in a broader scale which is dealing with topics related to your life or world view. They help you to pay attention to topics that you may easily miss which are nonetheless very relevant to your life. Finally, when you pick out your own philosophical perspective, you not only learn not to be biased but to be humbler, since it is always possible for your view to be challenged by others. This is what makes philosophy fascinating.
What are you most proud of in your professional life?
What makes me proud of in my professional life is seeing my students more interested in philosophy at the end of a semester. I recall that almost a year after one of my courses was over, a student of mine walked up to me and told me how much she had been interested in the course and this had encouraged her to participate in discussions despite the fact that she was admittedly not a typically outspoken student.
I always like to be perceived as an instructor who is passionate about what she teaches and doesn’t treat her job simply as a duty to be performed. It makes me proud of what I have done in my professional life when I receive this kind of feedback from my students.
What is your favorite book of all time? (Or top 3). Why? To whom would you recommend them?
My first favorite book is Rumi’s The Masnavi in six volumes. Through the narration of stories and anecdotes, Rumi comes up with many thoughtful statements about the nature of human existence, life, death, love, and the like. Reading this book always reminds me of the Buddha’s statement that “your money may save someone for seven years, but your good words may save her for seventy-seven years.” I highly recommend the book to anyone who seeks a deeper meaning which underlies their normal life events. Although this book is about the reinterpretation of events happening to mostly fictional characters, it helps you to go beyond yourself and revisit your own life from a deeper standpoint, since meanings behind the events may be the same for different individuals regardless of superficial differences.
My second favorite book is Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning. Frankl was a Jewish-Austrian psychiatrist living under the Nazi regime. When you read this book, you are in awe with the author’s ability to cope with the most difficult conditions anyone could ever experience. But not only did this situation not make the author despondent but it proved to be a source of inspiration and meaning in his life. I do suggest the book to anyone who wants not to give up in harsh circumstances.
The third book I’d like to talk about is A Report to Greco by Nikos Kazantzakis. This book is like an intellectual biography in which by flashing back to his childhood memories and investigating other observations, the author reveals his view on existential issues we face in our life. And this is what makes this book unique, since it goes beyond a simple autobiography. So read this book if you are interested in a great literary figure’s internal journey.
What is your favorite film of all time? (Or top 3). Why? To whom would you recommend them?
In general, I like movies containing an existential theme and/or a moral dilemma. I think Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby is a movie of this kind. In this movie, you are impressed by its main character, a girl who pursues her dreams in spite of many obstacles and difficulties. The film is also engaged with the notion of death, moral responsibilities, and the meaning of life. Watch this movie if you want to strive for your goals but are surrounded by difficulties.
The second movie I’d like to suggest is Interstellar, directed by Christopher Nolan. This is a wonderful movie dealing with existential themes such as aging, separation from your loved ones, time perception and its influence on your life. In this movie, you also deal with a moral dilemma that makes you think whether it is morally right to save the life of many at the expense of sacrificing another person’s normal life.
The third film I am impressed with is A Separation by Asghar Farhadi. This Oscar-winning film also deals with different moral dilemmas and shows how difficult it is to judge people in morally tough circumstances. The movie also nicely depicts the life of morally upright poor people who don’t sell their dignity, in spite of being needy. I think all of the movies will be worth watching if you like movies with existential and intellectual themes.
What’s your favorite quote?
Rumi has a poem that always comes to my mind especially when I look at my relationship with those whose native language is different than mine, but my intimacy with them goes beyond any verbal communication. Here is the poem:
“Having the same tongue is kinship and affinity,
With those with whom no intimacy exists, a man is in prison.
There are many Hindus and Turks with the same tongue,
And oh, many a pair of Turks, strangers to each other.
Hence the tongue of intimacy is something else,
It is better to be of one heart than of one tongue.
Without speech, without oath, without register,
A hundred thousand interpreters from the heart arise.”
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.
Alexis LaBar has a Master’s degree in Philosophy from West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Before attending West Chester, she graduated from Moravian University with a Bachelor’s in Philosophy, a minor in Global Religions, and an Ethics certificate. She is the recipient of the 2022 Claghorn Award in Philosophy, awarded by West Chester University, and the 2021 Douglas Anderson Prize in Philosophy, awarded by Moravian University. She is the Editor of the Teaching Beat and Work/Life Balance Beat.
