American Philosophical Association Interview

Danielle Clevenger is pursuing her PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is passionate about the transformative power of philosophy, especially as it relates to teaching and learning. Her research interests include the role of embodied cognition in learning, effective and equitable teaching practices, and philosophy of science more generally.

What excites you about philosophy?

I love philosophy for its ability to bring about meaningful change in the way people think about and navigate the world. I think there is nothing more exciting than using philosophy to empower people to think more effectively and charitably for themselves. This isn't to say that pure exercises in philosophy don't excite me - because they do. However, philosophy has a lot to bring to society, and it excites me to see people carry, bit by bit, philosophy outside of the ivory tower.

What are you most proud of in your professional life?

I think I am most proud of the collaborative work I have done with many talented philosophers, especially the philosophical work I have collaborated on with my students. I would be remiss at this point not to thank my close mentors and loving friends for all they taught me and all the support given. Their guidance has informed not only my approach to philosophy but my whole life.

Early in my academic career, I was given the wonderful opportunity to teach and interact with students from multiple institutions on some great projects. At Eastern Michigan University (EMU) I worked with students on their annual Undergraduate Conference in Philosophy and The Sophia Project (TSP). TSP was a student-led and designed experimental curriculum endorsed by EMU's General Education Program. The goal of the program was to use philosophical skills to increase student agency as they navigated their college careers. This work, and working style, resulted in a number of meaningful relationships with my students that continue to this day. The way they use philosophy to be more creative, critical, and caring in their endeavors is amazing to watch. The work they do, and the lives they lead, make me incredibly proud. I have even had the immense pleasure of seeing one of my students, who I helped teach in PHIL 101, go on to teach that course as a graduate student herself.

At UW-Madison I have also had the chance to work with some incredible students. I was given the wonderful opportunity to build, with Harry Brighouse, the Teaching and Learning Companions (TLC) project, which extensively trains students to give meaningful and actionable feedback to university instructors. The students in that program do not cease to amaze me in their accomplishments. I also have had the pleasure of running several Philosophical Learning Communities at Madison. These semester-long projects were designed to help students take their learning into their own hands. Watching these students struggle and succeed in engaging difficult texts and reflecting on them in their own lives makes me soar. One example I'll never forget is where the students had to explain and discuss one of our texts with a friend (the goal was to practice translating philosophy into their own words and using it in their lives). We worked on an incredible piece, "Loving Someone In Particular," by Benjamin Bagley, which focuses on how loving someone over time is possible when the beloved and the lover are constantly changing. One student discussed this piece with their very new partner, and it resulted in a really deep conversation about love for them - they continue to be incredibly happy together today. It's just so much fun and such a privilege to help facilitate philosophy in these ways. These forms of collaborative philosophy really fill me with joy.

Ok, so this response is really long, but it comes straight from my heart and truly is what I am most proud of in my philosophical career.

What are you working on right now?

Currently, I am working on my preliminary examination. As a philosopher, I am definitely a blender. I tend to see connections between often disparate subjects and can bring them together in philosophically fruitful ways. My prelim is an excellent example of this. I develop an account of how a learner can - and does - come to acquire new conceptual primitives through the process of bootstrapping. To do this, I modify Susan Carey's account, while keeping the same empirically focused spirit. My account takes into consideration the way embodied cognition interacts with learning, and offers two distinct advantages over Carey's computationally focused account: (1) it provides more salient and robust empirical examples of how the bootstrapping process can occur in human learning, and (2) it has the potential to respond to the Deviant Interpretation Challenge, which critics have semi-successfully levied against Carey's account.

N.B. If by some chance Susan Carey sees this, I think you are so cool!

What topic do you think is under-explored in philosophy?

Philosophy for Children (P4C)! I think children are often underestimated, to everyone's detriment. Children are incredible philosophers because they aren't constrained by as many norms or fears yet. They are less afraid to ask potentially silly questions. They always want to know, "why?" (as any parent can attest). Working on philosophy with children has helped me deepen my understanding of what philosophy is, what it can be for, and how it should be practiced. One thing that P4C has solidified for me is the importance of philosophy as a skill. Philosophy as a skill (or skill set) helps one learn to think more deeply, critically, and creatively. The earlier this can be learned, the better. Madison Public Philosophy (MPP) has been having weekly philosophy classes with local kindergarteners(!!), and has developed a robust curriculum for teaching them complex philosophical content and skills.

I would love to see more people think about how we could use philosophy in public contexts and, especially, with younger populations.

What is one change you would like to see happen in philosophy or in the philosophical community?

I would love to see philosophers move towards a gentle academic academy, and work on creating an academic community that strongly values collaboration and cooperation and which is more accessible - embracing a greater diversity of voices.

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.