Annika Froese is finishing her doctorate in philosophy at the University at Pittsburgh. She works on topics in the philosophy of science with a focus on explanation and understanding and currently teaches biomedical ethics.
What excites you about philosophy?
It is the variety that has always excited me most. In my early days, I had a thing for German thought, everything from Kant onwards. I studied the German idealists, Nietzsche, the Frankfurt school… Maybe being German had something to do with those early inclinations. At some point I developed great enthusiasm for American pragmatism. Reading Simone de Beauvoir and bell hooks was revelatory, because they illuminated parts of my experience that I never had the words to express. At Pitt, it was hard not to develop an interest in the philosophy of science. Not only is Pitt’s philosophy department strong in that area, but you have access to the HPS department and the Center for Philosophy of Science, too. I became very interested in questions surrounding causation, in particular. Over the years, I also developed a rather strange appreciation for the form of the academic journal article, which, at its best, dazzles you with its lucidity. I like thinking in terms of possible worlds. All of this is to say, I can’t imagine another subject allowing one to think and write about such a wealth of topics. Having said that, I think my inability to settle down, philosophically speaking, is also my downfall. Professional philosophers need to be experts and I worry that I am not capable of becoming one. So I am looking forward to transitioning to a non-academic existence once I have completed my PhD. If anything, I hope that once I stop trying to make a living of philosophy, I can shamelessly read around, and pick up whatever philosophy suits me best!
If you could wake up tomorrow with a new talent, what would you most like it to be?
I would want to be able to play the flute like Lorna McGhee, who is Principal Flutist at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. But maybe that does not count as a new talent, given that I know how to play the flute, if only at the level of a not-entirely-atrocious amateur. Could I boost an existing talent?Â
What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?
Learning to roll my r’s! Okay, I am not being entirely serious here. Still, I love languages and not being able to roll my r’s felt like a real shortcoming. I studied Spanish at school and spent some time in Quito and in Barcelona to keep it alive. I always had to fake-roll my r’s and I was so self-conscious about it! My teachers pitied me; less sympathetic people sniggered. Later in life I also tried to pick up a few words of Russian, and there they were again, rolled r’s everywhere, taunting me. Eventually I did some serious research, spent hours practicing trying different exercises, and one day – the r was r-r-r-r-olling! It was enormously gratifying.
If you could be anyone else for a day, who would that be and why?
My friend Mahi Hardalupas. I would not want to be her, but I would want to be like her for a day. We have much in common, but I also admire her for all the ways in which she is different from me. She is level-headed, non-judgmental, and reliable, whereas I am more of an irritable, capricious hothead. She has faith when I am despairing. She is trusting and sees the good in people, I have a tendency to turn into a misanthrope. I never feel like I belong, whereas she is connected to those around her. I could go on, but I think it all comes down to the fact that she is just a thoroughly good person. It would be nice to be like that for one day! [Mahi thinks I am being too harsh on myself here, but of course she would say that.]
What would your childhood self say if someone told you that you would grow up to be a philosopher?
A WHAT? Young Annika wanted to be an actress or an Olympic athlete. During my teens I thought being a teacher might be nice, but I still had never even encountered anything by the name of philosophy. That happened in high school, when I chose to replace religious studies with this much more mature sounding subject called philosophy. And then I did not like it at all! The teacher – who had a PhD and made me realize you could somehow be a doctor without knowing a thing about medicine – was weird and absent-minded. The only text I remember reading was by Schopenhauer. I cannot recall the content, but I do remember thinking: What a mean, miserable man! What am I supposed to do with this? In short, if someone had told childhood me I would one day be a philosopher before I had ever heard of it, I would have been confused, and maybe sad, because I had other plans. If you had told me I would be a philosopher after my first exposure to philosophy… I doubt that I would have believed you. But if for some reason I had, I would have probably started to wonder, at what point will it all go wrong?
This section of the APA Blog is designed to get to know our fellow philosophers a little better. We’re including profiles of APA members that spotlight what captures their interest not only inside the office, but also outside of it. We’d love for you to be a part of it, so please contact us via the interview nomination form here to nominate yourself or a friend.
Dr. Sabrina D. MisirHiralall is an editor at the Blog of the APA who currently teaches philosophy, religion, and education courses solely online for Montclair State University, Three Rivers Community College, and St. John’s University.
