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The Student Spotlight was initiated by the Philosophy Department during the fall 2016 semester. It recognizes students who are majoring or minoring in philosophy, exhibit academic excellence in the field, and are actively engaged in departmental activities. Every two weeks a new student is chosen. These students are showcased on our Student Spotlight bulletin board, which is located across from the department office (3308 Boylan Hall). Both students and professors have the opportunity to learn more about these chosen students’ academic interests, recent accomplishments, and future goals in the field.
Philosophy graduate Nimra Asif ’21 is thriving at the University of Connecticut’s Ph.D. program in philosophy. Her research in the theory of mind, “Minimal Theory of Mind—A Millikanian Approach” has been published in Synthese, an international academic journal for philosophy.
I am an upper senior with plans to graduate in spring 2024.
I am dual majoring in chemistry and economics with a concentration in financial and international economics.
After graduation, I intend to fulfill my lifelong dream of becoming an attorney. I will be enrolled in Harvard Law School in the fall where I intend to combine my passions for science and economics into becoming a patent or white-collar litigator.
I mostly enjoy delving into medical ethics as well as the philosophy of law.
My favorite philosophers are John Stuart Mill and John Locke as well as Descartes.
“I believe that the pursuit of truth and right ideas through honest debate and rigorous argument is a noble undertaking.”—Charles Krauthammer.
On Liberty. by John Stuart Mill
I have recently presented my honors thesis at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Long Beach, California. I intend to publish this thesis once it is finalized. In addition, I am in the Macaulay Honors Program where I have been on the Dean’s List each semester and won the Golden Tassel for the highest score on the Assessment of Learning exam in economics at Brooklyn College. I have also won the Henry Yuska Award from the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department for excellence in chemistry research. Finally, I was selected as this year’s representative of the Koppelman School of Business to carry the banner at Commencement.
I am an avid surfer and I enjoy teaching beginners how to surf as well. I am also very involved in the student community at Brooklyn College where I am the president of several clubs.
I am a senior and will (hopefully) be graduating this May.
I am a dual major in political science and philosophy and law. I also have a minor in criminal justice.
I entered Brooklyn College set on studying political science and explore other disciplines. After stumbling around through linguistics, sociology, etc., I eventually realized what I valued most was the kinds of readings and thinking that only philosophy could truly offer. The second I looked into the major I realized that it was the one for me.
What are your goals for the future? Do you have plans to attend graduate school, or do you have a career in mind upon graduation?
I am currently planning on attending law school this fall. After working in whatever field of law for some time, I do hope to return to philosophy, either professionally or academically in graduate school. Either way, I fully intend to keep on reading and studying philosophy on my own!
I love reading and thinking about all kinds of philosophical branches, most especially ethical theories and how we apply them, epistemology, and political philosophy. I also love tracking the growth of ideas and concepts throughout different eras and philosophers.
My favorite will always be Socrates. I fell in love with philosophy through reading his efforts to explore and share reason. I also love reading Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Baruch Spinoza, and Epicurus.
From Plato’s Apology, Socrates said after being sentenced to death: “I had not the boldness or impudence or inclination to address you as you would have liked me to address you, weeping and wailing and lamenting, and saying and doing many things which you have been accustomed to hear from others…I would rather die having spoken after my manner, than speak in your manner and live…The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways—I to die, and you to live. Which is better God only knows.”
Rousseau’s Discourse on the Origin of Inequality.
I was recently awarded the Evelyn Goss Scholarship for achievement in political science, but I think my favorite accomplishment is getting into law school!
The hardest job I’ve ever had was working at a bagel store, and the most fun job I’ve ever had was working in the State Assembly in Albany.
I am a senior, and I will finish after the 2024 summer sessions.
I am a philosophy major with a concentration in philosophy and other fields (English), and I am a film minor.
I chose to become a philosophy major because of the philosophy classes I took at BMCC before attending Brooklyn College. I fell in the love with the nature of questioning the world around me and what I thought I knew, so when I transferred to Brooklyn College, I knew that I wanted to continue my education in philosophy.
As of right now I do not have plans to attend graduate school, though that could change. Currently, I plan to pursue a career in the film industry.
I am interested in political and social philosophy as well as the metaphysical field of ontology.
Michel Foucault, René Descartes, and Karl Marx are a few of the philosophers that really intrigued me and got me initially interested in thinking about philosophy, and for that, they have remained some of my favorites.
I encountered a Rousseau quote this semester in my Social Philosophy class that I deeply agree with. It’s a bit lengthy, so here is the most important bit: “… you are undone if you once forget that the fruits of the earth belong to us all, and the earth itself to nobody.”
Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, by Michel Foucault
I was awarded the 2020 and 2021 Beth J. Singer Philosophy Award. Most recently, I was on the Dean’s List for fall 2023. Pending approval, I also plan to share an essay about the value of studying philosophy at the HSS Student Expo in April.
Something that people usually don’t expect about me is that I love to go to raves and listen to EDM/Dubstep music.
I am a junior and will be graduating in either the fall 2024 or spring 2025 semester.
My major is in philosophy; technically it’s philosophy and other fields.
I was taking Philosophical Issues in Literature as an introductory philosophy course as an elective, and I loved it. The professor, Professor Vitrano, suggested I major in philosophy and even met with me to discuss what a future as a philosophy major may entail. Philosophy was always something I was interested in but never thought it wise to commit to, nor did I fully understand everything it meant. And of course, I still don’t, but I at least want to learn.
I plan to attend graduate school and get my Ph.D. so I can eventually teach at the college level. I think the more time I spend in philosophy classrooms, the more drawn I am to teaching and being in academia. Otherwise, I’m aimless. I’m excited for whatever happens upon graduation. I think philosophy has equipped me with being such a smarter learner that it feels weird to be ending soon and not beginning. I feel like now I am ready to go to school and decide what major I want to be since I’ve spent almost the last four years studying how to read, question, write, reason, and discuss—all of which I believe have furthered my desire to learn.
There are so many fields I am interested in, many of which overlap: moral philosophy, political philosophy, philosophy of mind/philosophy of psychology, existentialism, social philosophy, ethics, history of philosophy, and aesthetics.
I don’t think I have any favorite philosophers per se, especially since my interests constantly fluctuate. At the moment I’ve been interested in the Johns: John Locke, John Rawls, Jean-Paul Sartre, John Stuart Mill. I also enjoy Marx, Kant, and Walter Benjamin.
This is something that also changes, but right now it is a quote by Émilie du Châtelet that I find equal parts hilarious and interesting: “In order to be happy, one must have freed oneself of prejudices, one must be virtuous, healthy, have tastes and passions, and be susceptible to illusions; for we owe most of our pleasures to illusions, and unhappy is the one who has lost them.” The latter half about illusions is what appeals to me the most.
I don’t know about my favorite book, but an essay I love is Walter Benjamin’s “Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.”
Last year I was the recipient of the Stanley Malinovich Award for Excellence in Philosophy. I would love to attend conferences and publish in the future.
I’m a classically trained actor and amateur baker—amateur, coming from the Latin word “amare”: “to love.”
Angela Sierra
I am currently a senior expecting to graduate in September 2023.
I am majoring in philosophy and medical ethics with a concentration in cognitive science.
At my previous university, I was a neuroscience major and philosophy minor. However, when transferring I decided to make a change given my interest in cognitive neuroscience. I believe philosophy to be helpful in raising questions in cognitive science that can one day hopefully pivot neuroscientific research to aid in neurodegenerative disease treatments.
After graduation, I plan to gain my Ph.D. in philosophy or experimental psychology. Shortly after I would like to complete my M.D. and am currently considering M.D./J.D programs. I would like to one day complete my medical fellowship in neurosurgery and become an advocate for international public health laws.
My interests in the field of philosophy include philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, philosophy of music, aesthetics, and ethics.
My favorite philosophers include Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, John Locke, René Descartes, John Pollock, Sigmund Freud, Thomas Hobbes, Confucius, and Thomas Aquinas.
Although not considered a philosopher, I enjoy this philosophical quote by Morgan Freeman: “When your vision is crystal clear, they say it’s razor-sharp. A focused mind is said to be like a knife, but the scalpel is wisdom. All one can do is accept that life is a double-edged sword. Stay on the edge.” From Savage Mode II
I enjoy reading The Analects of Confucius.
I have recently been named and awarded as a fall 2022 CUNY scholar. I have also been awarded both the SASA and Furman Fellows Program Travel Scholarship for winter 2023.
I love sharks and pie!
Andre Howell
I’m currently a senior and I’ll be graduating in the Spring 2023 semester.
I’m a double major with a B.S. in Psychology and a B.A in Philosophy & Law. My two minors are Human Resources management & development and Professional & Applied Ethics.
When I was in high school I was studying for psychology, and I really enjoyed it. However, through studying psychology I was eventually introduced to philosophy and I’ve been hooked ever since. Now I’m really interested in integrating the two together.
I’ll be attending Brooklyn College for another two years while enrolled in M.A program for Industrial/Organizational Psychology in the Fall 2023 Semester.
My interests in philosophy are mainly political, economic, and social philosophy. I enjoy discussing these greatly, but I also enjoy reading and writing about epistemology and theory of mind.
This is a difficult question to answer, there are a lot of great philosophers that I have enjoyed reading or that have influenced me. However, my top 3 in no specific order are Plato/Socrates, Sextus Empiricus, and John Rawls.
I don’t usually keep track of quotes, and I don’t think I have a favorite one. However, one that I resonate with and comes up often is, “Truth springs from argument amongst friends” – by David Hume.
My favorite book thus far has been Plato’s Symposium.
I’ve recently joined the following honor society chapters at Brooklyn College; Psi Chi, Phi Beta Kappa, and Phi Sigma Tau honor. I’ve also had the opportunity to learn in depth about theory of mind in chimpanzees with Professor Robert Lurz. That led me to write an essay winning the Howard W. Hintz Essay Prize, and a best presentation award during the HSS Expo. I’m also excited because I will be receiving a scholarship that will pay for my M.A. In I/O Psychology.
I’m currently the treasurer.
Rayan Mamoon
I am currently a senior and am registered to graduate on June 2nd.
I am a philosophy major with a concentration in medical ethics and a minor in chemistry.
I chose to become a philosophy major because I was intrigued by the new medical ethics concentration which was initially introduced to me by professor Lurz and professor Gotlib in 2019. Since then, I knew the philosophy major would give me the perfect opportunity to develop the critical thinking and analysis skills that are necessary for navigating through the ethical dilemmas in medicine. A few Brooklyn College alumni also described to me how their philosophy majors helped them excel on the MCAT and in medical school.
I will be entering the MD/MPH program at SUNY Downstate almost immediately after I graduate from Brooklyn College.
I have special interests in discussions concerning justice and ethics.
My favorite philosophers are Aristotle, Ibn Sina, José Jorge Mendoza, and Peter Singe.
“There are no incurable diseases — only the lack of will. There are no worthless herbs — only the lack of knowledge.” -Ibn Sina
Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics.
I was recently awarded the Eric Steinberg Philosophy Award and accepted into the Phi Sigma Tau Philosophy Honor Society. I received an award for my presentations at the 2023 HSS student expo. I was the primary author for a quality assurance study that I conducted at Queens Hospital Center, and I was also a co-author in two other clinical research projects. I was awarded the Rudin Scholarship for my research.
I love trying new escape rooms and have completed one in four different states so far.
Alexander Ocasio
Currently a sophomore. Anticipated to graduate in 2025.
I intend on double majoring in film production and religion, and then minoring in secondary education.
I view film as the inner child of creative expression; whereas secondary education and religion are the adults of responsibility. There is a nuclear arsenal worth of wisdom found within philosophy and religion – and I fear that our generation often neglects such wisdom; as our generation teaches the next, I fear their view of the past grows more and more distorted, until wisdom itself is left unrecognizable. Philosophy promotes the exchange of dialogue to discover truth and I fear that the growing years will be the years in which people will be made uncomfortable by the free exchange of ideas.
I would like to teach at my old Catholic high school (Xaverian) at some point in my life. Then perhaps sell some screenplays on the side as well.
Philosophy of religion, philosophy of science, philosophy of time, ethics, free will/determinism.
Marcus Arelius, Justin Martyr, Thomas Aquinas, Alan Watts, C.S Lewis, Augustine.
“But then the rose was without thorns; since then the thorn has been added to its beauty, to make us feel that sorrow is very near to pleasure.” – St. Basil the Great.
The Apology of Aristides of Athens.
Current president of the Newman Catholic Club. And when I was in high school, I uploaded a four-episode series called Dora the Exorcist on YouTube, where Dora the Explorer grew up to fight demons.
Yolette Bukai
I’m an upper junior (based on credits), but I just began my second year. I hope to graduate in spring 2024.
I’m pre-med and my major is philosophy and medical ethics.
I’ve always been the student who asks too many questions and wants to understand concepts on a deeper level. I enjoy the discomfort in pushing the boundaries of your mind and I wanted to develop my critical thinking skills. I know I made the right decision because I constantly catch myself smiling in class when I hear a new idea that’s opened my mind in a unique way.
I’m pre-med and I plan to go to medical school and become a physician.
Ethics is very important to me, but I’m interested in metaphysics and existentialism as well.
Descartes is one of my favorites; his meditations are fascinating.
“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing”—Socrates
I was fortunate enough to be the recipient of the Beth Singer Scholarship for Excellence in Philosophy last semester.
I’m the author of a sci-fi/romance novel called The Second Alliance, which I self-published at 16 years old, and I’m a volunteer with Make-A-Wish.
Hira Mirza
I graduated in May 2020!
I majored in political science and minored in philosophy.
I have always been interested in exploring and challenging the cultural/societal norms, but most importantly, challenging my own point of view, and philosophy gave me the perfect platform to do that. It allowed me to analyze and critique things in unlimited ways. I enjoy learning a bit about a lot of things and questioning things more freely, and philosophy gives you the freedom to do that.
I plan on being an international human rights attorney to bring justice to the victims of human rights and promoting women empowerment through starting my own organization in the future. I will be starting law school in fall 2021. I was recently admitted to University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and Cornell Law School, thanks to the philosophy classes that I took, which helped tremendously in boosting my LSAT score.
Ethics and existentialism, Confucius, Rumi, and Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi.
“Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion.”—Rumi
The Nicomachean Ethics, by Aristotle
I have made the Dean’s Honors List from 2016 to 2020. I received the Louis P. Goldberg Memorial Scholarship in 2020 and the Sarah Koltun Scholarship in 2020.
I am passionate about body-building and I am a huge MMA fan! I recent joined an MMA academy in South Brooklyn to train for wrestling and kickboxing.
Amina Stone-Taylor
I graduated in May 2020.
I majored in philosophy with a concentration in business.
I chose philosophy because it would best prepare me for law school. Philosophy afforded me the opportunity to improve my reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. All of the aforementioned are essential for success in law school.
I am going to attend law school! I plan to practice education law or do child advocacy work.
My first major interest in philosophy is the social contract theory. I enjoyed learning about the different contracts that philosophers like Locke, Hobbes, and Rousseau formed. Another major interest of mine is formal logic and reasoning. I loved learning about fallacious reasoning and what the components of a strong argument are.
My favorite philosophers are Thomas Hobbes, John Rawls, Immanuel Kant, and Karl Marx.
“Be a free thinker and don’t accept everything you hear as truth. Be critical and evaluate what you believe in.”—Aristotle
Leviathan, by Thomas Hobbes.
I was accepted to my #1 choice—Columbia Law School! In addition, I was accepted to other institutions such as Georgetown, Fordham, and Brooklyn Law School. Thank you to the Philosophy Department and especially Professor Penny Repetti and Professor Serene Khader for writing letters of recommendation on my behalf.
I have been a pescatarian for the last eight years. I also loved my experience zip-lining and hope to go sky-diving one day.
I will be graduating in spring 2022.
I am a double major in honors chemistry (B.S.) and philosophy (B.A.), with a minor in biochemistry.
During high school, I stumbled upon Nausea by Jean Paul Sartre. I was immediately gripped by the story of a man revolted by his own existence. While I understood some of the philosophical issues Sartre explores—free will, the meaning of existence, the nature of reality—I was overcome by the desire to learn and understand more. Ultimately, I chose to become a philosophy major to explore the “big” questions about life.
After graduation, I hope to attend a dual M.D./Ph.D. program with intentions of becoming a physician scientist.
Existentialism, phenomenology, stoicism, ancient Greek philosophy, and ethics. I have recently become more interested in the Frankfurt School and political theory and the connection between Marxism and existentialism. I have also been taking an independent study this semester on Martin Heidegger’s Being and Time, which has kindled an interest in the primordial moods of Dasein and the authenticity of existence.
Jean-Paul Sartre, Karl Marx, Baruch Spinoza, Theodor W. Adorno, Albert Camus, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius.
“I must be without remorse or regrets as I am without excuse; for from the instant of my upsurge into being, I carry the weight of the world by myself alone without help, engaged in a world for which I bear the whole responsibility without being able, whatever I do, to tear myself away from this responsibility for an instant.”—Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness
Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius
I’m very proud to have been inducted into Phi Beta Kappa last spring. I was also fortunate enough to participate in the 2020 DOE/ACS funded Nuclear Radiochemistry Summer Program.
I love cooking and I currently perform research in a chemistry lab on campus.
Justin Freeman
Philosophy.
I chose to become a philosophy major because of Professor Albrecht, who teaches Philosophy of Law at LaGuardia Community College. We had many conversations that would last after class, and she suggested many times that I study philosophy. I was also introduced to Frantz Fanon by a classmate around that same time, which continues to have a significant influence on my worldview (weltanschauung). My experience with professors and classmates at Brooklyn College that I’ve had the pleasure of learning, working, and receiving mentorship helped validate that interest.
I’m taking a gap year and plan to apply to a liberal arts program to study philosophy, sociology, or African-American literature. I would love to become a professor and perhaps a political or cultural pundit.
I’m deeply interested in Black existentialism, intersubjectivity, Spinoza and monism, and Jean Baudrillard.
I’d say my favorite philosophers would be Frantz Fanon, Immanuel Kant, and (regrettably) Hegel.
“The last shall be the first and the first last.” This quote comes from Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth. Regarding decolonization, a reversal in any power dynamic in society never puts things back the way the initial aggressor found them. There will be forever afterward this struggle with identity among the oppressed and a strained and irreparable relationship with the oppressor.
Black Skin, White Masks by Frantz Fanon.
I was given a Merit Award from the Brooklyn College Philosophy Department. I was awarded a fellowship in the Cooper-DuBois Mentorship Program. I was a finalist at the Yale International Policy Competition in February. I recently won a debate at the NYC Political Forum, where my team favored abolishing the Electoral College. Lastly, I participated in Coronavirus in Brooklyn autoethnography project in collaboration with the Social Science Research Council. I produced a piece called “Remembering One Pandemic While Experiencing Another,” which was submitted to the Brooklyn College Library and the Brooklyn Historical Society.
I speak Hungarian and take lessons twice a week. I lived in the United Kingdom for 12 years.
Daniela Alba Ramirez
I’m a junior and I’ll be graduating in the spring 2021 semester.
I’m a philosophy major.
I chose philosophy because it is the parent of theology. My goal is to continue my studies in cannon law in Rome. I was inspired to follow this path through an encounter with Pope Francis at an audience for the youth of the Neocatecumenal Way. I’ve always felt a calling to be a part of the necessary change and adaptation of the Roman Catholic Church to modern times. I’d like to focus on pushing the social development of the church in regards to gender power dynamics as well as bringing justice to those who have felt oppressed by a system of patriarchal ideology the church has pushed post Second Vatican Council. In layman’s terms” God loves everyone equally! Regardless of sexual orientation, mental health, gender, and specially lifestyle. Any attempts to segregate freedom from our relationship with any higher being is manmade. With that being said, my interests range from theology and cannon law to modern language, diplomacy. and education. Each of them plays a key role in my quest to understand how to be helpful to the cause!
Sor Juana Ines de La Cruz, Balthazar Von Hans Urs, and Edith Stein.
Vivir Para Contarla, by Gabriel García Márquez, Brother, I’m Dying, by Edwidge Danticat, and Laudato Si, by Pope Francis.
I am left handed, and I’ve been dancing salsa since I was four years old!
Matthew Denaro
I’m a senior, and I’ll be graduating in the spring 2020 semester.
I major in history and philosophy, with minors in political science and women’s studies.
Upon entering Brooklyn College, I had a good sense of what my plan of study would be. I’ve had a long standing interest in history and philosophy, the intersection of the two, as well as political and gender theory. I think those four disciplines feed into each other really nicely in the sense that philosophy is something that is necessarily historical, and political and gender theory are things that are deeply influenced by philosophy and history, if not just philosophy itself.
My goal is to become a professor in a history or philosophy department in North America. I plan to apply to Ph.D. programs in fall 2020.
My research interests range from the dialectical materialism, existentialism, the notion of modernity, and communicative rationality. Karl Marx, Jean-Paul Sartre, GWF Hegel, and Jürgen Habermas are four major figures whose works I am particularly interested in.
“While in communist society, where nobody has one exclusive sphere of activity but each can become accomplished in any branch he wishes, society regulates the general production and thus makes it possible for me to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticize after dinner, just as I have a mind, without ever becoming hunter, fisherman, herdsman or critic.”- Karl Marx, The German Ideology. I’m fond of this quote because it brings out a side of Marx that for one reason or another often gets obscured, one that looks to transform the alienated being of capitalism into a more fulfilling and authentic one. To me, it means that after private property is abolished, human beings will finally be able to determine their own being in terms of work on the basis of freedom, rather than economic necessity.
If we’re talking fiction, I would say God Bless You Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut. I think the message of radical kindness and humanity he offers in that book, among his other works, is quite special. However, for non-fiction, I would say The Invention of the Restaurant by Rebecca Spang. It’s a great historical study of the modern invention of the restaurant in ancient regime France, and is, in some respects, how I got introduced to Habermas.
I won the Marge Magner Award from the Magner Center this semester to fund my internship at the Museum of Food and Drink. I was also awarded the Eric Steinberg Award by the Philosophy Department in May.
I bake bread every week, and my main mode of transportation is by bicycle.
Maggie Lin
I’m a senior, and I will be graduating in spring 2020!
I’m a philosophy and law major.
At first, I took some philosophy classes as an interest and after receiving support from my professors, I decided to pursue it as a major. Philosophy has given me insight to questions I’ve always wondered about and allowed me to express myself more and better. I always wanted to do law and Brooklyn College conveniently has a philosophy and law track.
I am planning on applying to law school in the near future.
I’m interested in metaphysics/existentialism, Chinese philosophy, ethics, and logic. I don’t necessarily have a favorite philosopher, but I do enjoy the works of Albert Camus, Hu Shih, and Simone de Beauvoir.
“Everything has been figured out, except how to live.” — Jean-Paul Sartre. Simply because he took the words right out of my mouth.
I have made Dean’s List for the past few semesters, and recently joined an Honor Society.
I work at a bank as an associate banker. I am an avid (self-proclaimed) foodie.
I will likely be graduating in spring 2021!
I am majoring in philosophy and business law, with a minor in ethics.
I have a deep appreciation for being able to pursue an academic field that assists me in better analyzing the world around me. This in turn is what will assist me in the path of being able to optimize how I help others in the future. Business and law are also interesting!
Like many other college students, I’m not 100% sure what I want to do, but thankfully I have narrowed it down to a few. However, what I do know is that whatever career I pursue I have an intense passion to help others.
Ethics and religion are the two subjects that interest me the most. My figures of interest are Alan Watts and Friedrich Nietzsche, I believe they both have plenty of meaningful additions to philosophy that people today need to learn from. It is because they are so different and have such unique perspectives that I believe their lessons would have a profoundly positive impact on society.
“It is by doubting that we come to investigate, and by investigating that we recognize the truth.”—Peter Abelard I love this quote because it is an accurate reflection of the way I have lived. I doubt/question and then investigate to learn as much as I can in order to form a deeper understanding of the world around me.
Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t, by Simon Sinek.
I believe learning through experience and conversation is the best way to retain knowledge with meaningful impact. I LOVE Star Wars.
Robert Alexandre
I will be graduating in June 2020.
My major is philosophy and business, and I am minoring in economics.
In the beginning of my college career, which started at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, my only focus was learning how to be a better trader, and I thought I could do this through learning economics. I did finish with my associate’s in arts for economics. My first semester in Brooklyn College helped me see philosophy, love opened my eyes, and my first class here was with Professor Campos. That class planted the seed, and other things in my life helped me make the jump. All I care about is the supreme me. Philosophy is a tool to make men better, all I care about in life is being better than I was yesterday. Philosophy helps me do this, it gives me superpowers.
My goals for the future are to become a better trader and continue growing my firm. I’ll do this by becoming a better person, thinking better, and living a better life.
The stoics’ ideas of living help me both in life and in the markets.
Socrates!
“Even in good men there is such an irregular wild-beast nature, which peers out in sleep.”—Plato, The Republic. This quote reminds me of how the good man has a fight inside himself. Only a good man can control himself, but even in private he still has to fight.
As a Man Thinketh, by James Allen.
My most recent accomplishment was graduating from BMCC; my next will be graduating Brooklyn College!
Kennedy Alexis
I am a senior and I’ll be graduating this May 2019.
I majored in philosophy with a concentration in business management, and a minor in health and nutritional sciences.
I decided to take the fall 2016 semester off from school because I was uncertain about the direction I wanted to take for my college career. During my time off, I would always be pulled toward philosophical readings by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Seneca. After deeper reflection, I decided I wanted to learn about life. Funny enough, the headline on the Brooklyn College’s Philosophy Department webpage was “Find the Meaning of Life at Brooklyn College,” and I then knew this was the place for me.
I was accepted to the University at Buffalo’s Master’s in Urban Planning program, so I will be attending UB this fall. I am concerned about the development and sustainability of undeserved communities, so as an urban planner I plan to create conscious infrastructure, which will support the economic, human, and social sustainability in these communities. I am not exactly sure what that looks like as of yet, but that’s what graduate school is for.
My interests include social, political and moral philosophy. Unfortunately, I do not have a specific figure of interest because there aren’t any singular beliefs in philosophy that I hold. I treat philosophy like a sport, I enjoy the process of reading different works then synthesizing it to apply greater understanding to my life and the world that I live in.
I do not have a favorite quote, but one topic I always revert back to is Alain Locke’s view on pluralism. I enjoy his views on pluralism because he saw pluralism as a functional base. I think that too often people are worried about who or what is right or wrong, when those are not the questions necessary to cure societal issues. Pluralism challenges us to understand the underlying similarities in values, opinions and actions of people, and I believe that if pluralism was truly grounded in politics, there would be less of a need for emotionally manipulated based politics. I love the philosophy of pluralism because it forces understanding between people, which I believe is fundamental to preserving equality in a diverse society. I also enjoyed reading W.E.B. Dubois’ criticism on Hampton University, which basically states that the black person is never truly respected because they are forced into extremes—either too intellectual or too physical. Dubois believed that the black individual needed a little bit of both to be whole and once he or she was whole is when they would be respected. This idea also speaks on pluralism, but in the context on individuality, saying that black individuals do not need to be either or, its healthy for them to have a little bit of everything—to be individualized. At least that is the understanding that I grasped.
The Education of Black People, by W.E.B. Dubois, and Turning Confusion into Clarity, by Helen Tworkov and Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche.
I was offered the Arthur A. Schomburg Fellowship, which is a fully funded scholarship offered by State University of New York for graduate school. I relaunched Brooklyn College’s Black Solidarity Day Committee, which held a successful three-day event to celebrate Black Solidarity Day on campus, with over 120 students, staff, and black professionals in attendance. I was a part of the 2018 Isrealead fellowship, which granted me a trip to Isreal with the different Hillels across CUNY. This academic year I was awarded the BC Black Faculty and Staff Scholarship, and the Soul Lyons Memorial Scholarship.
I went to Athens, Greece, and visited the University of Athens, which was pretty euphoric for a philosophy major.
Joel Alvarez
I am a senior, and I am graduating in spring 2019.
I am a philosophy honors major, and I’m minoring in history.
The reason why I chose this major is because philosophy, for me, is an important instrument that has been used for many millennia, and it is also a tool that helps us seek the very thing that, I believe, our essence seeks for: truth and purpose. My motivation to pursue this major started when I was in high school and I read the book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Five Dialogues of Plato, and St. Augustine’s Confessions. These four texts are what principally motivated me to pursue philosophy, and I do not regret it one bit.
After graduating with my bachelor’s, I plan to attend graduate school for philosophy so I can achieve my goal of becoming a professor. I plan to apply to programs in Rutgers, Notre Dame, Fordham, and/or the CUNY Graduate Center.
My main interests in philosophy are in metaphysics and in such questions relating to it, such as: life after death, God, determinism, imcompatibalism/compatibalism, etc. Another similar interest is in philosophy of religion and in tackling the problem of moral and natural evil, concepts of God, miracles, etc. My other interests are in medieval and modern philosophy.
My figures of interest are St Augustine, Boethius, Thomas Aquinas, Molina, Calvin, Leibniz, Spinoza, Alvin Plantinga, William Lane Craig, Eleonore Stump, Peter Van Inwagen, and many others.
“If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.”—Rene Descartes. What this quote, and others like “the unexamined world is not worth living” show me is the value of always checking to see if something is true. What they show me is that being skeptical in all things should be praised rather than looked down upon. It is through doubting that one can find truth, and for this reason, I refuse to follow any popular or miniscule idea unless I first doubt and then see that it is worth believing. Otherwise, how else can I check and see if what my parents taught me is true unless I doubt? Or how can I agree with a professor, or a friend, if I do not check if what they say is true? But of course doubt with the purpose to find truth rather than doubt and seek no answer.
On the Free Choice of the Will, by St. Augustine.
I had the opportunity to be part of the Mellon Transfer Program, where I conducted an independent research project about the philosophy of racial identity in the Hispanic community. In addition, I got accepted to two honors organizations: Phi Sigma Tau and Kappa Delta Pi.
I used to hate reading when I was younger, but when I read out of my own volition, I began to love it. And I love anime like One Piece, Bleach, Naruto, Full Metal, and, of course, Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo (not shampoo).
Johnny Han
I will be graduating in May 2020.
I am a philosophy major and a I have a minor in film.
Studying philosophy has improved so many aspects of my life. It helped me develop more meaningful personal relations, and think more systematically about ethical issues. As an artist, I find philosophy to be a great source of inspirations.
I am thinking about attending graduate school, but nothing is decided yet. The most ideal thing for me is to have an academic career in addition to a career in film.
Aesthetics, epistemology, and political philosophy in the continental tradition. Some of my favorite philosophers include Walter Benjamin, Hannah Arendt, Gilles Deleuze, Jacques Derrida (his late works), Simone Weil, Martin Heidegger, and Immanuel Kant.
“As pitilessly as force annihilates, equally without pity it intoxicates those who possess or believe they possess it. In reality, no one possesses it. People in the Iliad are not segregated into conquered, slaves, suppliants on the one side and conquerors and masters on the other; every human being may at any moment be compelled to submit to force.”―Simone Weil, The Iliad, or, The Poem of Force. Along with Hannah Arendt and Walter Benjamin, Weil’s essay on Homer’s epic poem taught me how to think politically, and to always ground my philosophy in the social world.
Illuminations, by Walter Benjamin.
I make movies.
Alexandria James
If all goes well, I will be graduating in spring 2020.
I am double majoring in philosophy with honors and Africana studies.
My first semester at Brooklyn College, I took the CORC class “The Self and Society” with Professor Raymond. She had us read Plato’s Republic, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, and Dostoyevsky’s Notes From the Underground— just to name a few. I had no idea such seemingly disparate figures could exist on one syllabus, and yet, it all made so much sense. At the end of the semester she said to me, “Are you a philosophy major, and if not, why?” Ha! I honestly hadn’t even considered it before then. I think I talked myself out of philosophy being “for” me. In any case, I took “Social Philosophy” the following semester with Professor Chopra. I was particularly moved by One Dimensional Man, by Herbert Marcuse. I couldn’t get enough! I started looking deeper into his work, and that’s how I learned that he mentored Angela Davis. At that point, Philosophy stopped being something that I simply enjoyed, to feeling more real. I figured I would continue with Africana studies with philosophy as my minor. It was actually Professor Chopra who suggested that I not just become a philosophy major, but that I pursue the honors track. I was hesitant at first, but I’m so glad I did, as it has really anchored my research goals.
After a lot of soul searching, I have decided that I want to pursue graduate studies in philosophy. I am looking at schools that are supportive of continental philosophy. I love research, but representation has had such a deep impact on my academic experience, that I have become more and more drawn to the classroom as well.
My primary interests are aesthetics and black feminist philosophy/womanism. I draw heavily from moral philosophy, metaphysics, and existentialism in my work. Jean-Paul Sartre, Herbert Marcuse, and Anna Julia Cooper come to mind. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus in relation to black women. To that end, I am really intrigued by Britney C. Cooper’s ideas of the “eclectic archive” and “embodied discourse.” Oh, and Charles W. Mills is just doing incredible work in moral philosophy right now. I would love to work with him one day! Honorary nod to Jean Baudrillard even though he ruined my life. Half kidding. But yeah, those are a few.
“At the magic touch of the beautiful the secret chords of our being are awakened, we vibrate and thrill in response to its call. Mind speaks to mind. We listen to the unspoken, we gaze upon the unseen. The master calls forth notes we know not of. Memories long forgotten all come back to us with a new significance. Hopes stifled by fear, yearnings that we dare not recognize, stand forth in new glory. Our mind is the canvas on which the artists lay their colour; their pigments are our emotions; their chiaroscuro the light of joy, the shadow of sadness. The masterpiece is of ourselves, as we are of the masterpiece.”—Kakuzō Okakura, The Book of Tea
Lately, I keep coming back to The Book of Tea by Kakuzō Okakura. It’s one of those texts I stumbled upon while looking for something completely unrelated, but wound up being exactly what I was looking for. It’s so elegant and grounding. What I love so much about aesthetics is its undeniably intellectual foundations, that are so bound by the senses. It’s a field where notions like “embodied discourse” can really thrive. We really do feel into everything we know, don’t we? The quote I chose, I feel, really captures that.
In perhaps an elaboration on my graduate school aspirations, I was accepted to Brooklyn College’s chapter of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program. Professor Chopra agreed to be my mentor for the program, which I’m so grateful for. In fact, as of this writing, I will be presenting my research (or what I have cobbled together so far!) in just over two weeks’ time at the MMUF Fall Student Showcase. I am so proud to be among this group of scholars and am still in awe that I was chosen. I’m especially proud to be among the BCMMUF family as a philosophy major. I credit my social and political philosophy courses, as well as George Cunningham, who gently insisted that I apply, and Prudence Cumberbatch, who helped edit my application essay (both in Africana studies) for helping me get to where I am today in my studies. You know, even in Africana classes you’ll find that there is a certain amount of convincing that has to occur that engaging the African diaspora in a scholarly way is legitimate. My two mentors in that department predate the inception of black studies as an option in universities! Just to give some perspective. Working with them, seeing bell hooks and James Baldwin on the syllabi in my philosophy courses profoundly shifted what I understood was possible. Representation matters so, so much. I feel so grateful walking into the remainder of my philosophy honors requirements knowing that such voices can take space in this field.
I have been a musician for most of my life. My main instruments are guitar and voice.
Paulina Vaynshteyn
I am currently a junior.
I am majoring in philosophy.
I tried a couple of philosophy courses here after transferring from the chemical engineering track at City College, and I loved it. I think I was just bound to end up in philosophy at one point or other—even my love for chemistry was philosophical in nature. It pulled me in.
I hope to attend graduate school at some point, but most likely in the slightly distant future. At the moment I’m trying to start an artist-owned and -run cooperative that would give participants the freedom to write and create art with a little more security than freelance work. My goal is to use art as a vessel to bring philosophy back into the lives of ordinary people, outside of academia.
Eastern philosophy, philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion, and feminist epistemology.
Hannah Arendt, Judith Butler, Adrian Piper, and Angela Davis.
“It is outside itself, in the world of others, in a space and time it does not control, and it not only exists in the vector of these relations, but as this very vector. In this sense, the body does not belong to itself.”—Judith Butler, Frames of War
Therese et Isabelle by Violette Leduc.
I have made Dean’s List over the past couple of semesters.
I like to spend my free time carving wood and practicing calligraphy.
Erick Bianculli
I have more than enough philosophy credits to graduate and will likely graduate in the spring, but I plan to spend another two semesters here to finish up my biochemistry minor.
My major is philosophy and other fields, and my minor is in biochemistry.
It started with the Euthyphro dilemma back in a first semester critical thinking course with Professor Roberto Ruiz. I remember having an immediate feelings of needing to learn how to argue and think properly, that is, with a little bias as possible and with a deeper understanding of critical thinking and heuristics. Moreover, I had, at a young age, always asked questions about the nature of being human. This led into questions about the nature of being and non-being, and I would later learn that I was asking a paradoxical question referred to as Plato’s Beard, a name coined by Quine. To say the least, I already had a predisposition to asking philosophical questions, so to major in philosophy was far from wonder; perhaps it was a kind of determinism.
The plan is to open a brewery somewhere in Brooklyn or Queens in the near future. I was set on the idea of graduate school since I started studying philosophy but have since turned my priorities to making beer. There is so much history, culture, science (and dogma) that emerged from that ancient drink, and being an agent in creating such a drink has struck me as a necessary aspect of my being. Not to mention the process is immensely gratifying, not only as a personal philosophy about the ingredients and process but also as an artistic outlet that satisfies my desire to create things that offer a lasting subjecting experience.
Without a doubt, metaphysics and philosophy of science.
Traditional philosophers such as Aristotle, Hume, Clifford, Russel, Popper, Kuhn, and Schaffer. I also enjoy some other inspiring thinkers such as Einstein, Carl Sagan, and Steven Novella.
“The danger to society is not merely that it should believe wrong things, though that is great enough; but that it should become credulous, and lose the habit of testing things and inquiring into them; for then it must sink back into savagery.”—The Ethics of Belief, William K. Clifford.
Aristotle’s Metaphysics.
I hiked the Appalachian train from Maine to Georgia in 2011 and Vermont’s The Long Trail in 2012. In 2014, I hitchhiked from the Atlantic Coast in North Carolina to the Pacific Coast in Washington, then I decided to buy a bicycle and cycle back home in New York.
Dan Durso
I am currently a senior and I anticipate graduating this spring.
I am a philosophy major and a neuroscience minor.
Returning to school is my midlife crisis (which I think is a pretty good one, better than a sports car at least). I already have two degrees, a B.F.A. and an M.F.A. in the visual arts. I thought my school days were over. I was in the trenches of the New York art world pursuing a career in the visual arts when I picked up a copy of Daniel Dennett’s book on atheism, Breaking the Spell. Much of that book is about understanding religion through the application of Darwin’s theory of evolution. However, what impressed me was his use of expanding evolutionary principles into understanding human behavior. It occurred to me that the way in which he analyzed the proliferation of religion through an evolutionary lens might also be the way to better understand the nature of art and creative activity. As an artist, I have long wondered why we make art; why some of us have this strong desire to create even when the obstacles and challenges of dedicating oneself to such a craft can be severe. What started as an interest soon turned into an obsession. I found myself reading anything from evolutionary biology to neuroscience and ultimately to philosophy. It became pretty clear, I needed to go back to school and sharpen my tool kit.
I intend to pursue graduate study in philosophy. I will be applying to Ph.D. programs next December.
Philosophy of art, philosophy of mind/cognitive science, philosophy of biology.
David Hume, T.H. Huxley, W.V.O. Quine, Daniel Dennett, Andy Clark, and Noel Carroll.
“But the putting forward, not of detailed and scientifically ‘finished’ hypotheses, but of schemata for hypotheses, has long been a function of philosophy.”―Hillary Putnam, The Nature of Mental States.
Darwin’s Dangerous Idea, by Daniel C. Dennett.
I am a visual artist with a studio in Gowanus. I make abstract oil paintings and computer-generated abstract animations.
Alice Liu
I’m a junior, and I plan on graduating in 2020.
I’m majoring in philosophy.
My Intro to Philosophy class (hi, Professor Shottenkirk)! I had such an amazing time. I felt as if I was not only learning about the assigned readings, but how to think critically and freely. It’s a skill I think every college class should be actively emphasizing. I felt I had found a subject that would help me improve myself as a person by improving my reasoning skills.
I hope to go to SUNY Downstate Medical School. Fingers crossed!
I suppose in light of the somewhat recent rise of what critics label “postmodern thought” and the highly polarized and bizarre political atmosphere, I have newfound interest in epistemology. It’s something I always liked, but now it’s even more fun to read about and then to examine its practical application. Although the question remains how useful the subject would be to people who aren’t interested in truth, just furthering their argument with as shabby reasoning as they can get away with. I wish I could retake the class. I also like reading about how Confucianism influences politics and society in modern China.
Peter Singer is a funny guy, and Charles Sanders Pierce is someone I hope to read more of.
In proving the existence of God, Descartes wrote, “And the whole strength of the argument which I have here made use of to prove the existence of God consists in this, that I recognize that it is not possible that my nature should be what it is, and indeed that I should have in myself the idea of a God, if God did not veritably exist.”
I was born in Texas, and I trained in three instruments.
Drea Bulding
I am an upper senior and I will (hopefully) be graduating this semester (spring 2018).
I am a communications major and a philosophy minor.
Communications was a way for me to address various fields, like law, history, art, philosophy, and marketing, under a common lens that best fit where I see my career goals going.
My dream is to create a platform for local artists/musicians/creatives that help them gain exposure in a competitive field. I would also like to apply to graduate school and to study art and business.
I have always been interested in how we perceive things. It sounds general, but an example would be how words have no meaning until we designate different meanings for them. I am also interested in ethics, language, and how we hold value judgments about things related to the art world.
“God is dead! He remains dead! And we killed him!”—Friedrich Nietzsche. I just love it!
The Awakening, by Kate Chopin
I studied philosophy last semester in Barcelona. I am a member of the Roy L. Furman Fellows Program. I won the first annual philosophy department scavenger hunt.
I have no doppelgängers. If you see one, it’s one of my other personalities! I intern for a really cool booking agency/music venue called Popgun Presents and Elsewhere in Bushwick. I am a co-founder of a new art/party/music collective called Masterhouse Kitchen. I’m currently making a photo book for it; stay tuned!
Jack Gallo
I am a junior, and I plan to graduate in the spring 2019 semester.
I am a psychology major with minors in art, philosophy, and Italian.
I chose these majors because I am interested in the interaction between biology and society.
I am not sure yet what my career goals are but immediately after graduation I want to hike the Appalachian Trail and join a commune.
My favorite subject in philosophy is metaphysics. I like to contemplate the nature of personhood and personal identity through time.
I don’t have a favorite quote, but my favorite philosophical idea is Monism. Although there is a barrier between our individual consciousness, every atom in the universe was created from the same energy. We are all part of an interconnected One.
I really enjoyed Notes From the Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
I am currently a Mellon Transfer Student Research Fellow doing research on the Italian American experience during the first wave of Italian immigration.
I read Tarot and love rollerblading!
Heather Alper
I am currently a senior.
I am majoring in philosophy and law, and double minoring in political science and women’s and gender studies.
At the start of my college career, I planned to double major in English and political science. After taking Political Philosophy, however, I discovered a course of study that would allow me to explore my passion for law and justice while simultaneously analyzing classic literary texts; I enthusiastically registered as a philosophy and law major and made political science my minor. My feminist spirit inspired me to adopt my other minor: women’s and gender studies. I am passionate about studying the ways in which inequalities operate in society—in hopes of having the opportunity to help correct them.
I aspire to attend law school, and ultimately become a human rights attorney.
My two main interests are philosophy of law and ethics.
I particularly enjoy the writings of Aristotle, John Locke, and Audre Lorde.
Aristotle asserted that “being loved, however, people enjoy for its own sake, and for this reason it would seem it is something better than being honoured and that friendship is chosen for its own sake” (Nicomachean Ethics, 1159a25-28). We live in a competitive world in which prestige is valued and, unfortunately, perceived social status is often prioritized over developing meaningful relationships. As an academically ambitious person, I refer to Aristotle’s wisdom as a reminder that it is ultimately more important to be a virtuous person who develops honest, meaningful relationships with my professors and peers than merely do whatever I can to get ahead in society.
My favorite philosophical book is Artistotle’s Nichomachean Ethics. He explores key issues surrounding goodness, offering an invaluable commentary on how to live a good life.
This year, I was honored to receive the Philosophy Merit Award from Brooklyn College’s Philosophy Department. I also won several scholarships to fund my study abroad program, including Brooklyn College’s Furman and SASA scholarships. In addition, I created an international campaign encouraging the National Women’s Studies Association to revoke a resolution undermining academic inclusion.
Vincent Andreassi
I am a second-degree student, likely to graduate in the spring 2021 semester.
Last semester, I completed my philosophy major. Currently, I am a linguistics major and am contemplating choosing between physics or computer science for a double major. I am also a double minor in cognitive science and neuroscience.
I have been interested in the “big questions” since childhood and even took a couple of courses at Kingsborough. I remember being intrigued by Plato’s Five Dialogues and Descartes’ Meditations. When I came to Brooklyn College, I took Philosophy of Biology with Professor Menser and Inductive Logic with Professor Moore, and I was hooked. I developed a romantic view of philosophy as the wellspring of human knowledge. One day during class, I heard Professor Moore say, “I remember finding out as a younger man that the proof for one plus one equaling two was 30 pages long and thinking to myself, ‘Any field that insane, I absolutely have to be a part of.’” I agreed.
I have been in fitness my whole working life; I am looking for a career change to something I am more passionate about. I will be applying to graduate school, hoping to find a place in academia one day as a professor. Knowing how difficult that is, backup plans exist, of course.
We could be here a while: philosophy of mind, psychology, language, logic, time, physics, science, AI, neurophilosophy, ethics, and free will.
Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Descartes, Hume, and Russell have been among the most influential to me.
“In a word, human life is more governed by fortune than by reason; is to be regarded more as a dull pastime than as a serious occupation; and is more influenced by particular humor, than by general principles. Shall we engage ourselves in it with passion and anxiety? It is not worthy of so much concern. Shall we be indifferent about what happens? We lose all the pleasure of the game by our phlegm and carelessness. While we are reasoning concerning life, life is gone; and death, though ‘perhaps’ they receive him differently, yet treats alike the fool and the philosopher. To reduce life to exact rule and method, is commonly a painful, oft a fruitless occupation: And is it not also a proof, that we overvalue the prize for which we contend? Even to reason so carefully concerning it, and to fix with accuracy its just idea, would be overvaluing it, were it not that, to some tempers, this occupation is one of the most amusing, in which life could possibly be employed”—David Hume “The Sceptic,” from Essays, Moral and Political (1742).
I cannot honestly say that I have one, but I am fond of The Republic as a great work.
Brian Cordero
Currently I am a junior. My anticipated graduation date is 2019.
My major is philosophy with a minor in LGBTQ+ studies.
Well, when I first started college, I wanted to do neuropsychology, then journalism, and then finally philosophy. I think what I was really looking for was some sort of “truth,” and I thought I could find that in the other fields, but really “truth” as I wanted it was better found in philosophy than the other fields (and also the ability to critique anything as harshly as you want as long as you could back it up is pretty fun). LGBTQ+ studies are also in many ways clearly philosophical. It’s actually very strange that we don’t read more philosophical investigations into unquestioned social distinctions like gender and sexuality in the department. The modern view of these constructions clearly needs a philosophical eye.
I definitely plan to apply to graduate school, and I’ll be honest, this question reminded me that I’d better start looking at prospective programs right now (but actually I’ll procrastinate and keep answering these questions).
Peter Kropotkin, Emil Cioran, and Dostoevsky have probably been the most influential people on my personal relationship with philosophy. I’m profoundly interested in nihilism, and radical political critiques of liberalism from an anarchist perspective. However, these writers were mostly starting points for critiques that became intensely more specific, as academic philosophy requires these days. Recently, I have also developed an interest in Daoist philosophy, but I don’t really have the grasp on it that I would like.
“A battlefront runs through the whole of society, continuously and permanently, and it is this battlefront that puts us all on one side or the other. There is no such thing as a neutral subject. We are all inevitably someone’s adversary.”—Michel Foucault
I like this quote a lot because often we think of intellectual pursuits as neutral, and usually we think of ourselves as neutral until we make some type of thing we consider a “decision.” However, everything we do is a decision. Every action we take places us on a side. Philosophers often have the illusion that they can be without place, time, biology, or history. They think they can reach this impossible level of objectivity, but they cannot.
This is going to line up perfectly with the people I mentioned earlier. The Conquest of Bread, by Peter Kropotkin. The Heights of Despair and The History of Utopia, by Emil Cioran. Of course, Dostoevsky’s classics, such as Notes From Underground and The Brothers Karamazov.
I very recently became part of the Mellon Mays Fellowship.
Christina Weinbaum
I am currently a senior and will be graduating in the spring 2018 semester.
I am majoring in philosophy (with honors), and last year I completed my psychology major.
During my first semester here at Brooklyn College, I got to take Introduction to Philosophy with Professor Nuzzo. She was such an incredible professor, and I immediately fell in love with philosophy because of her class. I was always excited to discuss the readings, and it was consistently the highlight of my week. When I got my final paper back, Professor Nuzzo wrote on the back that I should consider majoring or minoring in philosophy and at that point, I was sold. I have always loved thinking critically, having debates and discussions, and reading and writing, and philosophy is the perfect major for that.
Upon graduating, I will be taking a year off to focus on applying to both master’s and Ph.D. programs in philosophy. I’m hoping to be a professor of philosophy one day, and I’m really excited to inspire students the way my professors have inspired me.
I’m primarily interested in moral psychology and ethics because it’s the perfect combination of philosophy and psychology, but I also really enjoy philosophy of language, and metaphysics. I’m also hoping to do an independent study in philosophy of music because I love the questions that are asked in that field, and I’m super passionate about music.
The first philosopher that I fell in love with was Jean Paul Sartre; since then, I’ve also been a huge fan of Hegel, Rudolph Carnap, Willard Van Orman Quine, A.J. Ayer, Harry Frankfurt, John Martin Fischer, Miranda Fricker, and Jesse Prinz.
“What is meant here by saying that existence precedes essence? It means first of all, man exists, turns up, appears on the scene, and, only afterwards, defines himself. If man, as the existentialist conceives him, is indefinable, it is because at first he is nothing. Only afterward will he be something, and he himself will have made what he will be.”—Jean Paul Sartre, Existentialism Is a Humanism
My favorite book in philosophy is not necessarily a book, but rather an essay that comes in book format. You can guess it is Existentialism Is a Humanism, by Jean Paul Sartre. The reason I love it so much is because I find his advocacy for the existentialist ideology to be executed so perfectly. I think we often worry so much about our essence that we forget our essence is nothing unless we are constantly molding it through our daily-lived experiences. The way that we choose to live out our lives is precisely what makes us who we are. If you exist well, if you live the type of life that you imagine would be ideal for another human being, then you are doing it right. It also helps that Sartre can truly charm and sway a person with his words.
Last semester, I completed my first year as a fellow in the Mellon Mays Fellowship, and I was inducted into the International Honor Society of Philosophy (Phi Sigma Tau). More recently, I was accepted into the APA Pacific Division Conference in San Diego, where I will be presenting my research at a poster session.
Keren Goldberger
I am a senior Macaulay Honors student, and I am graduating a year early after a final class this summer.
I am majoring in philosophy (honors).
I sort of fell into philosophy, it was something I realized I was always interested in. Like many other students, I entered my freshman year unsure of what I wanted to major in. I knew that I was interested in law, but there was no pre-law major. Therefore, I took an array of classes in business, computers, science, accounting, and philosophy. My love of knowledge always pulled me back to philosophy. I enjoy the discussions and arguments that challenge me, and at times force me to reconfigure my beliefs. Additionally, I have gained valuable writing, critical thinking, and reading skills that will most definitely assist me in law school.
As I mentioned, I have always been interested in law. Specifically, I would like to pursue litigation law. Over the course of these past three years, I have interned in several law offices, such as the Brooklyn D.A. and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The best part of my day was going to court and observing the attorneys skillfully conduct their trials. I love the rush of arguing cases in court. However, I am not sure which area of law I would like to litigate for. I hope to attend Columbia or NYU this year or the year after.
This semester, I am taking an independent study with Professor Steinberg. We are analyzing Baruch Spinoza’s philosophy against the medieval Jewish philosophical background. Spinoza remains a key philosophical figure as he is seen as the harbinger of Secularism. Spinoza’s journey from an Orthodox yeshiva student in the 17th century Amsterdam Jewish community, studying the Torah and Talmud, to his heretical treatise that led to his haram, is fascinating. It is very interesting to see similarities in Spinoza and Maimonides’ philosophy, which is the Jewish philosophy that, it would seem, Spinoza wants to get away from.
In Maimonides’ The Guide for the Perplexed, he writes, “Truth does not become more true by virtue of the fact that the entire world agrees with it, nor less so even if the whole world disagrees with it.” I believe that truth stands apart from any person or opinion. There is no “my truth” or “your truth.” There is just what is true and what is not. If what you believe in is true, then nothing anyone can say or do will make it less so.
The character of philosophy that I find so appealing is that philosophers can study any philosophical text and consider each view to its fullest. There is no need to pick one, because every philosophy text I have read has shaped my worldview. So to pick one at the expense of others would be a shame, and unfair to the philosophical discipline. However, one theory that has been a core of my philosophy is Plato’s Theory of Forms. It seems that every philosophical debate inevitably leads me back there. I like the idea of an unattainable good. I like the idea that not all knowledge is in this world. Some may think otherwise, but that idea motivates me to strive for something otherworldly.
After high school, I took a year off to study Judaic studies in Jerusalem. Ever since the first time I traveled out of the country, my wanderlust has only grown stronger. My favorite places that I visited have been Paris, Scotland, and Venice. I love the rich history of Europe, but I hope to explore America in the near future. Traveling satisfies everything a person yearns for—knowledge, beauty, and good food.
Jenni Innes
I’m a senior, and I expect to graduate in fall 2017.
I am a philosophy major.
I initially came to Brooklyn College as a creative writing major. However, my first philosophy class was so challenging and engaging that I quickly changed my major.
I am very excited to finally be finishing my undergraduate degree. I’m interested in attending graduate school, but I have not yet settled on any prospective programs.
I am very interested in political philosophy. I spend a lot of time reading and thinking about democracy, equality, and freedom. As for specific figures—I have to say, the new philosophers, my fellow philosophy students, inspire me the most.
I recently read a speech by Frederick Douglass in my American Philosophy class, and I’ve been turning it over in my mind a lot. Speaking out against slavery, Douglass writes, “At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. Oh! had I the ability, and could I reach the nation’s ear, I would today pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. The feeling of the nation must be quickened; the conscience of the nation must be roused; the propriety of the nation must be startled; the hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed; and its crimes against God and man must be denounced.”
I am proud to be the Secretary of the Minorities and Philosophy student club. I was a fellow in the Mellon Transfer Student Research Program. In addition, the Department of Philosophy honored me with the Emily Michael Award and the Stanley Malinovich Award.
I like to play drums and lift weights. I write short fiction.
Alexa Marshall
I am a second-semester senior, and I will graduate in May 2017.
I’m a psychology major with a minor in philosophy.
I chose to study psychology because I enjoy working one-on-one with people. My career aspiration is to be a therapist, so studying psychology brings me closer to this dream. I believe that psychology and philosophy go hand-in-hand as disciplines because psychology is the study of the human mind and philosophy is the study of what the human mind naturally produces. In psychology, we learn that one does not experience the world objectively, but rather perceives reality based on a mental framework of ideas and beliefs. The connection between a person’s ideas, beliefs, and thoughts about themselves and the world intrigues me because I believe those are the keys to maintaining good psychological well-being. Aristotle proposed that happiness can be cultivated through good habits, and Socrates famously stated that “the unexamined life is not worth living.” Through studying both psychology and philosophy, I hope to therapeutically examine the lives of others as well as give them the tools to cultivate their own happiness.
I plan to take a year off before applying to graduate school. I would like to attend a master’s program that integrates spirituality into the practice of clinical psychology. Columbia University has a program that does just that, so that is my dream school/program as of right now. During my gap year, I will gain experience in the field of psychology. Currently, I am applying to be an English instructor for a small school in Costa Rica.
I love Eastern philosophy as well as exploring philosophical ideas in bodies of literature. I believe that common literary works are latently embroidered with the philosophical ideas and beliefs of their authors. Thus, my figures of interest, as philosophical writers, are Fyodor Dostoevsky, Khalil Gibran, and Toni Morrison, while my favorite Western philosopher is Socrates.
My favorite quote by Socrates is, “I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing.” In this seemingly paradoxical quote, Socrates is stating that his wisdom originates from the knowledge that he does not possess knowledge. I believe that as students and as adults, we are constantly required to know things, whether it be, something as small as the forecast for tomorrow or something as immense as who we are/who we want to be in this world. Socrates, in this quote, assuages himself from the pressure of prescience, emphasizing that knowledge lies in the freedom of acknowledging one’s own ignorance. We do not know, with all certainty, the forecast for tomorrow or who we are at any given moment, but in our awareness of our very own ignorance, we are intelligent.
This is a hard question because I believe that every book/text contains its own philosophy. Since I love Socrates, my favorite philosophical book is The Symposium because it contains the Socratic view of love’s purpose for human beings.
I have recently been accepted to present my senior thesis at the 2017 NCUR conference in Memphis.
Chukwunonso Nwasike
I’m a junior, and I will be graduating in May 2018.
I’m majoring in biology and philosophy, and I’m on the pre-med track.
I love biology because I have always wanted to understand things. Biology allows me to understand people mechanistically. Philosophy allows me to do the same thing, but in a more theoretical way. I can know how a person is alive through biology, but by studying philosophy, I am given the space to wonder why.
My plan is to go to medical school. I want to stay in New York City if I can.
Mainly, I am interested in applied medical and bioethics. However, I also really like to study metaphysics.
There is a Canadian bioethicist named Eike-Henner Kluge, and I am a real fan of his work. As for metaphysics, I really like Spinoza.
Locke, on innate ideas: “Children and idiots have not the least apprehension of them.” Honestly, I feel it’s kind of funny. However, I do believe that it serves as a rather legitimate objection to innatism.
I am not sure what my favorite book is, but the Ethics of Care is definitely my least favorite. I feel it has a ton to offer in really seeing how we act in society. It is practically spot-on. However, I think that as a guide as to why we should act, it doesn’t do well.
I have two papers that have been accepted to undergraduate conferences this year, and I’m really excited to go. One is on Medical Ethics at the end of March, and the other is on Animal Ethics in the beginning of April.
I’ve been playing the guitar and singing for about 10 years, and I love songwriting.
I’m a senior graduating in spring 2017.
I have a double major in psychology and philosophy.
During my childhood, my father would read stories from various genres and disciplines to my siblings and me. Perhaps one of the most memorable story times was when he read the Crito to us. I was introduced to the complexities of morality and societal life at a very tender age, though I probably did not fully understand all the arguments presented. Regardless, the seed of curiosity had been planted. After taking Introduction to Philosophy as an undergraduate, I knew that I wanted to continue on this journey to discover more about the discipline and its many gifts and bearings. Psychology always caught my interest because I recognized the value in human interactions. I want to utilize what I learned in class by helping build more compassionate and empathic communities.
Currently, my goal is to graduate this semester as I had envisioned it, with the acceptance of closing one chapter and the excitement of opening another.
My interests include social and political philosophy, specifically Aristotle and Cesare Beccaria.
“You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.” –Aristotle.
Because I am graduating and entering a world of many possibilities, there is a natural overwhelming fear in me. This quote just reminds me to stay calm, move forward, and do the best I possibly can.
Currently, it is Nichomachean Ethics.
This April, I presented my senior thesis about the injustices of U.S. prisons at the National Conference of Undergraduate Research in Memphis. Last spring, I was awarded the Machette Foundation Award. I was also granted the William Feingold Memorial Scholarship by the Psychology Department. I am an active member of Phi Sigma Tau (the International Philosophy Honor Society). For the past year, I have had the pleasure and honor of being the president of the Brooklyn College American Red Cross Chapter.
Nimra Asif
I’m a junior, and I will graduate in spring 2018.
I’m doing a double major in philosophy and English.
I chose to major in philosophy because I’m extremely curious, and I ask questions about everything. In the Philosophy Department, I can openly question and investigate all ideas, theories, and values. Also, I have a wide range of interests, such as science, history, literature, religion, and morality. Philosophy allows me to explore all these interests because there are so many subfields within philosophy.
I would love to go to graduate school and keep exploring the world of ideas, but I did not make any concrete plans yet. I want to have a career that involves teaching though because I tutor at the Learning Center, and I love it.
My interests in philosophy are logic, religion, philosophy of science, existentialism, pragmatism, and evolutionary ethics.
My favorite philosophers include David Hume, C.S. Peirce, René Descartes, Jean-Paul Sartre, Soren Kierkegaard, Karl Popper, William James, and Alan Watts.
“Indulge your passion for science…but let your science be human, and such as may have a direct reference to action and society. Be a philosopher; but amidst all your philosophy, be still a man.” —David Hume
Dialogues and Natural History of Religion, by David Hume.
I recently co-founded an interfaith program in association with the Muslim American Society and the Riverdale Presbyterian Church to foster dialogue and friendly relationships between teens from different faiths. I won the Albert Shanker College Scholarship, and I use the money I get from that scholarship fund to pay some of my tuition and cover book expenses.
I love reading, watching TV, and finding philosophical issues in popular TV shows, such as Arrow, Person of Interest, Daredevil, and Mr. Robot.
Alex Mendez
I am a junior, and my anticipated graduation date is spring 2018.
I have declared a double major in philosophy (honors) and political science.
Going into college, I knew that I wanted to study philosophy. My love for it started when I was a sophomore in high school with discussions about philosophy with the director of the drama club (of which I was a part). Unfortunately, in most high schools, students know little to nothing about philosophy. It was my curiosity and interest due to the small amount of reading I did starting in 10th grade about the history of philosophy that led me to major in it; while my second interest in politics led me to major in political science.
As for after graduation, I plan to continue my education pursuing a Ph.D. in philosophy. I do not have any particular school or program in mind for this, but with time, I am sure I’ll find the one! I’m hoping to be both a writer and professor of philosophy.
So far, I would have to say that my interests within philosophy extend to metaphysics and existentialism with a particular interest in the concept and problem of free will.
“I think, therefore I am.”—Rene Déscartes. This was the first quote that I had read about in philosophy that really spoke to me. It struck me in a way that the others I read in the beginning didn’t. Of course, at the time I was unaware of the profound philosophical bases and implications it had. In spite of this, it resonated with me, and it left a lasting impression on me that, to this day, forces me to question the world.
I love the performing arts. In high school, I did a lot of theater, from musicals to plays and monologue competitions. I still continue to do acting and theater outside of the classroom by performing with acting groups and writing plays. In addition to acting, I study dance. I started with ballroom for about four years and extended it to tap, modern, and ballet.
Andrew Rubner
I’m a senior, and planning to graduate in the spring 2017 semester.
I’m a philosophy major and a classics minor.
I became a philosophy major because as a kid, I always liked puzzles and abstract questions, and I found that philosophy focuses on both of these things.
After Brooklyn College, I plan on applying to a wide range of graduate schools, and go down the long tortuous path of professional academia.
My interests in philosophy include epistemology, formal and alternative logics, history of analytic philosophy, and medieval rationality (I know there’s a lot, but I’m still young).
The Vienna Circle (especially Carnap and Schlick), Quine, Timothy Williamson, Russell, William of Ockham, David Hume, and Gilbert Ryle.
“If we take in our hands any volume; of divinity, or school metaphysics, for instance; let us ask, does it contain any abstract reasoning concerning quantity or number? No. Does it contain any experimental reasoning concerning matter of fact and existence? No. Commit it to the flames. For it can contain nothing but sophistry and illusion.”—David Hume
Language, Truth and Logic, by A.J Ayer.
I won the Kitty and Lou Newman Memorial Scholarship last year. Thanks to all my professors!
I have been the philosophy tutor for a little over a year now, and I edit a student-run journal named The Brooklyn College Review.
Jesi Taylor
I am a senior anticipating to graduate in spring 2018.
I am a CUNY B.A. student studying “The Phenomenology of Structural Violence.”
We are an interesting collection of atoms, and I want to explore everything with an open yet disciplined mind. I also strive to be the change I wish to see in academia by constantly challenging the “Eurocentric masculinist knowledge validation process.” I chose to study philosophy, and identify as a philosopher, in order to actively represent the much-needed change in academic philosophy and contribute to various conversations within the discipline to add a new perspective from a queer, black, nonbinary, person in the field.
I intend to so public policy and social work while joining the professoriate. After graduating from Brooklyn College, I plan to do graduate work in philosophy (with a secondary field in African American studies) and law (with a concentration in criminal justice) in order to make that possible!
My areas of interest are political philosophy, Ancient Greek political thought, Africana philosophy, Black existentialism, and philosophy of law.
My primary figures of interest are Aristotle, Ida B. Wells, Tommie Shelby, Rawls, Plato, Max Horkheimer, Sextus Empiricus, Patricia Hill Collins, and bell hooks.
“By skepticism . . . we arrive first at suspension of judgment, and second at freedom from disturbance.”—Sextus Empiricus
Nichomachean Ethics, by Aristotle.
My article entitled “A Serious Proposal to the Professors” (shoutout to Mary Astell) was published on the APA website. I also presented at a conference this past August; it was on a skeptical reading of book five of Plato’s Republic that ultimately led to a denunciation of Plato’s alleged progressiveness when it comes to gender equality. A cool accomplishment was winning a dance-off in the Netherlands this past summer.
I choreograph roller-skating dances on quads. I’ve watched Reservoir Dogs once a week since 2007—not a joke.
Quixote Vassilakis
I am a senior, and I will be graduating in spring 2017.
Philosophy, with honors.
The discipline is suitable to my particular cast of mind, allowing me to think about science, art, and politics in the same domain. Although I did fall into it by chance.
My goal is to stay alive and find happiness. I will be pursuing a doctorate in philosophy, although I do not know where yet.
I’ve been reading Richard Rorty and Arthur Danto with interest. I’m also interested in European figures from the early 19th century.
I have no favorite, just temporary interests.
I like when Kant talks about jokes in the Critique of the Power of Judgment. He makes some remarkable jokes. For instance: If the heir of a rich relative wants to arrange a properly solemn funeral for him, but laments that he cannot get it quite right, because (he says), “The more money I give my mourners to look sad, the merrier they look,” then we all laugh. I do not know if I am laughing at this, but the joke’s content says something.
The most useful book I have read has been Imagined Communities, by Benedict Anderson.
I was inducted into Phi Sigma Tau this past spring.
I write poems, and I’m fortunate enough to travel a lot.
