Graham Curtiss-Rowlands is a philosophy PhD student at Washington University in St. Louis, who works primarily on social, political, and moral epistemology. His first published philosophy paper, “A Permissivism You Can Rely On,” is forthcoming in Synthese.
What excites you about philosophy?
I’m excited by the notion that philosophy is a sort of conceptual plumbing, as Mary Midgley described it. Philosophy offers the opportunity to question conceptual presuppositions that often go unquestioned. I like the thought of being a sort of philosophical Mario.
What are you working on right now?
My dissertation is on deference. I’m exploring things like the transformative potential of deference, whether deference can actually make us more autonomous, and the rationality of deferring to those with different fundamental commitments from oneself. I’m especially interested in these topics as they relate to deliberation about political and moral questions.
What do you like to do outside work?
I love music, both listening to and playing it (I mainly play guitar). There’s a soft spot in my heart for 70’s British prog rock (King Crimson, Genesis, Yes, etc.) and contemporary bands of a similar vein (Black Country, New Road, and Black Midi), though I like all sorts of music. Recently, I’ve been on a big Beatles kick, but before that I was really into this South African artist, Brenda Fassie.
I also enjoy consuming other sorts of media, especially video games. I’m a firm believer that video games are an exciting new medium for creating art. I think Celeste is an excellent example of this. You play as a woman who’s determined to climb a mountain, but is hounded by self-doubt that eventually becomes personified. The difficulty of the game mirrors this struggle. It is brutally hard, but not punishing; it gives you just enough encouragement to persevere and succeed at things that initially seemed impossible
I also love hiking and going for long walks with my wife.
What is your favorite book of all time? (Or top 3). Why? To whom would you recommend them?
One of my favorite books is Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. It’s an alternative historical fantasy, set during the Napoleonic Wars, in which magic used to be practiced in Britain long ago, but is now mainly studied by stuffy scholars. However, one stuffy scholar, Mr. Norrell, turns out to be a practical magician who can actually do magic. He’s recruited to the British war effort against Napoleon, and takes on an apprentice, Jonathan Strange, who has very different ideas about the future of British magic. It reads a bit like a 19th-century novel in the best sort of way, and is a fun exploration of academic squabbles. It also has a delightfully amoral fae character who is totally unaware of what a jerk he is.
Where is your favorite place you have ever traveled and why?
I really liked Prague. Everything there has many layers of history, like an old church I saw that was used by the communist government in the 1960s-80s to spy on neighboring Western embassies. It houses all sorts of Cold War spy equipment, like purses with hidden cameras. I also enjoy that the communism museum is above a McDonald’s and across from a casino.
What advice do you wish someone had given you?
Don’t waste time worrying about whether you’re smart enough. Also, it’s probably good to not wrap up your self-identity entirely in your work.
What is your least favorite type of fruit and why?
Honeydew. It tastes the way Monty Python’s Australian Bruces described American beer—“like making love in a canoe; f***ing close to water.”
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.
Jessica Castellani
Jessica Castellani had a unique high school experience attending Toledo School for the Arts, where she played in a percussion ensemble and steel drum band for six years. She earned her dual Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and religious studies from the University of Toledo. Her primary focus was “the Self” and the mystical experience of losing it. She earned her Master of Arts in philosophy from The University of Toledo as well, with a specialization in comparative philosophy, Eastern studies, and continental philosophy. She has taught World Religions and Introduction to Philosophy at The University of Toledo both in person and virtually. She is a member of the Buddhist Temple of Toledo, tutors students, and has worked in the service industry for over a decade. In her free time, she likes to spend time outside and with her pets, friends, and family.
