David Anthony Hurst Jr. is a graduate student at the University of Guelph with an aspiration of pursuing further education in the field of thanatology, the philosophy of death. His studies have a wide application from the psychology of grief and loss to bioethical dilemmas within euthanasia and MAiD, as well as historical elements of suicide and self-sacrifice.
What excites you about philosophy?
What excites me about philosophy as a discipline is its archival aspect, which deepens understanding of the human experience and how it has changed over time. What excites me about philosophy as a practice is its commitment to continually challenging concepts and ideas through rigorous critique to foster growth and perspective.
What are you working on right now?
I am currently working with Samantha Brennan as my advisor and Maya Goldberg as my secondary reader on an analysis that will highlight the similarities and differences between the bioethics of Track 2 MAiD and the moral permissibility of suicide. My work will also contain a meta-analysis distinguishing between ethical and legal definitions of suicide and whether its differentiation from self-sacrifice and non-culpability is imperative.
What do you like to do outside work?
In terms of the arts, I am very immersed in the music world, and I am constantly creating it. I play drums for my band (Numena), trumpet for the Guelph Symphony Youth Orchestra, and I am also a rapper and producer (The Hearse). In terms of athletics, I am very elated by mixed martial arts. I am a varsity wrestler at the University of Guelph; I am a purple belt in jiu-jitsu at 10th Planet Etobicoke; I box at Box and Lift Toronto; and I train in MMA at Ajax MMA.
What is your favorite book of all time? (Or top 3). Why? To whom would you recommend them?
No. 1: “Can’t Hurt Me” by David Goggins. I love this book because of the relentless drive toward success, greatness, and self-development that the author puts himself through, both willingly and unwillingly, as an attempt to shift his focus from viewing his flaws as something bad to seeing them as something worth learning from. I would recommend this book to anyone comfortable with the hard truth that their habits and vices may carry and to someone who wants to see someone accomplish great things in life because of it.
No. 2: “12 Rules for Life” by Jordan Peterson. I love this book because it provides a general framework for consistent, applicable self-improvement that can seem tedious in its early stages but yields significant results when taken further and applied to helping others. I would recommend this book to anyone struggling to know where to begin learning to self-love and hold themselves accountable for being a better human to themselves and others.
No. 3: “The Myth of Sisyphus” by Albert Camus. I appreciate this book because of its consistent message to create and pursue meaning amid life’s absurdities. It promotes both a holistic and realistic approach to understanding how we can transform our perception of suffering as an opportunity to reclaim control over how we choose to react to life. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to approach life more positively and see our struggles as steppingstones to creating the life we want to not just exist in but create purpose worth pursuing.
What are your goals and aspirations outside work?
I plan to join the Royal Canadian Air Force this year in hopes of pursuing my dream of becoming a fighter pilot. Once my time of service to this country is complete, I will pursue commercial piloting, continue performing with my band, and remain active by competing in whatever sport I am called upon to do at that age. Once that stage of life is complete, I will open a jiu-jitsu gym after earning my black belt and return to university to pursue a PhD in philosophy.
Who do you think is the most overrated/underrated philosopher?
Maurice Merleau-Ponty is one of the most underrated philosophers. Phenomenology is a scarcely sought-after discipline within philosophy, but his work is very niche and is worth looking into, especially his book “The Phenomenology of Perception.” As honorable mentions, I would also like to shoutout Frantz Fanon, Gottlob Frege, and Saul Kripke.
What’s your favorite quote?
“Compasses are not solely for direction, but for the discernment between movement and progression.” – Yours truly
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.
Smrutipriya Pattnaik
Smrutipriya Pattnaik is the Teaching Beat Editor and Series Editor for the Syllabus Showcase Series at the APA Blog. She is an adjunct assistant professor at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida and holds a PhD in philosophy from the Indian Institute of Technology Indore. Her research focuses on utopian imagination and political thought in the context of modern crises. She is currently working on her first book, Politics, Utopia, and Social Imagination.
