PhD Cohort 2020
HEIs: University of St Andrews and University of Stirling
Funding: AHRC DTP
Project Title: Why More Than What Happens Matters: Robust Rights and Harmless Wronging
Supervisors: Prof Rowan Cruft, Philosophy Research, Univerity of Stirling, and Dr Theron Pummer, Department of Philosophy, University of St Andrews
What was your research about?
If I fail to meet your friend for a drink after promising them to, or harm them for no reason, I act wrongly. But I also wrong your friend. They get to feel aggrieved. They get to complain about how I acted. What I don’t do, and this should be obvious, is wrong you by failing to meet your friend. I don’t wrong you by harming your friend. This can be explained by saying your friend, but not you, had a right that I meet them for a drink. They, but not you, have a right that I not harm them. As obvious as this may seem, why is that? My PhD focused on this and related questions—when, and why, is it that one holds a right to something?
What made you apply for the SGSAH AHRC DTP?
During my two-year long masters, I enjoyed carrying out research. I enjoyed getting to write longer papers than during my undergraduate, on topics I chose and cared about. But perhaps more importantly, I enjoyed talking with my peers, teachers, and visiting speakers about philosophy. So it seemed only natural to try and remain in an environment where I could continue to do all of that.
Which aspects of your PhD did you enjoy the most?
On an everyday basis, I enjoyed working at the shared office—being able to run ideas past people, see what they thought of something interesting I’d just read, and have people to discuss things with if I was stuck. I enjoyed attending talks, workshops, and conferences across my PhD. And I also really enjoyed bringing the thesis itself together towards the end of my PhD, having written the bulk of the thesis as independent papers.
How has your PhD helped you to decide on a career path?
I’ve not really got an interesting answer to this, since I became an academic. I guess it helped by allowing me to try out being an academic!
And now?
After two years as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Stockholm Centre for the Ethics of War and Peace, based at Stockholm University, I am now a Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Leeds.
One piece of advice you would give an incoming PhD researcher?
Completing a PhD can be very stressful, especially the closer that you get to completing. Don’t forget to enjoy yourself where you can. You’ll unlikely have that freedom again to read around topics that interest you.
I’d also recommend getting involved in the research community as much as possible. People tend to be supportive and helpful, it’ll allow you to get more from the experience, and should hopefully be enjoyable.
Where can people find you?
Twitter: @joe_bowen_1
Website: https://joseph-bowen.weebly.com/