"But What Will You Do With a Doctorate in Applied Philosophy?"

How many times have people contemplating coming to Bowling Green to study Applied Philosophy heard that question?

The majority of Bowling Green's philosophy graduates do go on to teach at other tertiary institutions, but quite a few have found non-academic positions in various fields. We thought it might be interesting to find out what they are now up to, so we dispatched The Fish on her first terrestrial assignment. In this issue, we present the first of a series of interviews that she will be conducting with doctoral graduates from Bowling Green's Applied Philosophy program who work in non-academic settings. She can be a little sarcastic at times, so please excuse her; she does live with a philosopher after all.

Hello you two. We'll start with a tricky question. What are your names?

Steve Sheinberg. Or so my business card says.

Jana (Craig)

When did you receive your PhD in Applied Philosophy from Bowling Green State University?

Steve: I defended in July 1995 and got the degree that December.

Jana: 2002 (I think of the five that finished from my entering class the earliest graduate was in 1996 and the last two (Al Decker and myself) finished in 2002. Whew!

What was your main area of research interest when you were at Bowling Green?

Jana: Moral philosophy/applied ethics.

Steve: I wrote a dissertation called "Kant's theory of Political Economy," which argued against those who took Kant as a socialist and made the positive case for Kant as, well, not a socialist. You can easily spot it on the library shelf: it's the one with a fine, 2-inch coat of dust.

In what ways, if any, have your research interests changed since then?

Steve: I don't have much time to write. However, I am very much interested in ethics and nonprofit organizations, in particular, the nature and extent of fiduciary duties owed by various parties in the non-profit environment. I remain more broadly interested in the relationship of politics, ethics and law.

Jana: I was always interested in applied ethics (that is why I left the west coast (home) to pursue philosophy at Bowling Green). So, my interests have not much changed although "clinical ethics" is something of a different animal than applied ethics - I now see.

What have you done since you left Bowling Green, and in particular, what job are you currently doing?

Jana: Mainly working. I am currently the Director of the Clinical Ethics Center for Memorial Health System and a member of Medical Humanities Dept at Southern Illinois School of Medicine. I was hired here as an ethicist, I've been here since 1998. 'Precisely the career I was seeking when I decided to pursue philosophy at BG.

Steve: Most importantly - and best of all - I got married! My wife and I live in a little house outside of NYC with our wonderful dog, Max.

Okay, to the details… the first thing I did - about a month after defending my dissertation - was go to law school. After law school I became a consultant with a small firm (great folks: The Taylor Research and Consulting Group) for a brief period time - until I joined my current employer, the Anti-Defamation League. For those of you who do not know, ADL is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism and bigotry.

At ADL, I started as the Associate Director of the Connecticut Regional Office, then I became Assistant Director of the Law Department and then, about eight months ago, I took my current post, Special Assistant to the National Director. I also run a program in community security.

What did you feel was valuable about your time spent in Bowling Green's graduate program in Applied Philosophy?

Steve: I learned to think about philosophy as something to do in the world on a practical, day-to-day basis. I also learned to think clearly, quickly and aggressively. I use that training every day.

Jana: A bit on the unexpected side were some of the life lessons I learned while in BG. Most significantly, I learned a lot about myself and how others perceptions influence my own perception and views. Living in BG provided an opportunity to experience ways of living I might otherwise have never been exposed to. Living in BG was initially a culture shock. (I'm from Los Angeles.) It was surprising to me (the culture shock) since I have lived in several small college towns and I've lived and worked in predominantly white communities, but the type of small Midwestern town BG is located in was more homogenous that I had experienced before. I didn't always love everything about the experience but I learned a lot about people, and how their experience in the world colors their perception of you. I didn't realize how much I had viewed myself through the lens of other people until that lens changed and I saw how my self perception was affected. It was a vivid, Sartre-esque experience. Really amazing. It was humbling and I'm appreciative.

I received a good education. This, of course, I expected and I'm glad that I wasn't disappointed.

What are some aspects of your job where your training in philosophy comes into play?

Jana: Hmmm… My training in normative/applied ethics comes into play all the time in various ways. I spend a lot of time thinking about practical (and, less often, theoretical) moral problems and propose practical ways to deal with them. Sometimes I am faced with situations that strongly remind me of being in one of Dr. Frey's seminars (always on Thursdays nights during my tenure) and having these "way-out" examples hurled at you. Good preparation. (Well let's just see what you would say, I can hear Frey saying: Should the medical team try and save a relatively young man with a history of bipolar disorder, hospitalized because he set himself on fire, in spite of family requests to let him go? Or for all you Kantians: Should a prisoner be allowed to be a liver donor for his brother (also an inmate) if doing so would likely mean that he will spend much of the rest of his prison sentence in a hospital or extended care facility? And who should decide such things, the state or the prisoner/patient or his medical team?)

I'd note another very general thing. People sometimes notice (and appreciate) that I am quite calm in deliberating over very emotionally charged situations. Some of that is my personality (I'm pretty tolerant) but a large part of it is training in philosophy, I think. Very few of the interesting circumstances I've had to consider were shocking (or unnerving) to me. I think it's the common use of thought experiments such that no matter how strange the circumstances - it's just data to you. It's funny because it's one of the things that contribute to people (i.e. students) viewing philosophy as irrelevant? Outdated? Inaccessible? Esoteric? - implausible thought experiments.

Steve: Where it really comes into play is when I am called upon to learn a lot about a subject very quickly. I am also asked to think about matters of policy and law - and philosophical training helps a great deal.

Any outstanding memories or things you miss from your time at Bowling Green?

Steve: The hours! Seriously, I miss the full-time focus on philosophy and teaching. I miss the excitement of being part of a new and innovative Ph.D. program. I miss my friends and colleagues, especially those who are no longer with us, like my friend and mentor, Michael H. Robins.

Fortunately, I don't have to miss my good pal and colleague, Bill Kline who lives very close to me now and is using his Ph.D. from BG in an innovative way: having launched a Business Ethics Center at Molloy College.

Jana: Sometimes I'm in the mood for Frey's Thursday night seminar complete with the cast of characters that roamed the halls in my day. (I don't miss being in school, though. 'Not at all.)

We all know that philosophers like to have the last word, so any famous last words?

Jana: I'm fond of saying things that sound platitudinous, so I'd better pass.

Steve: Network, network, network. And call me if I can be of help.

Thanks very much both of you. Steve, can I talk to you? I may need a lawyer to renegotiate my compensation agreement...
(Uh-oh! -Ed.)