Introducing Jason Decker and Brian Woodcock:
I interviewed the two new professors to the philosophy department about their academic interests, why they got into philosophy and their interests outside of the field. Interestingly, both professors had started their careers in the field of Engineering. While, Jason switched to Philosophy late in his undergraduate career, Brian finished his degree and then later pursued masters work in both Philosophy and Religion. Jason found that he was no longer as interested in Engineering as he once had been and began taking courses in both the Political Science and Philosophy departments. When it came time to make the big decision he turned to his then girlfriend (now wife, who is finishing her Law degree in Boston) for her input. Luckily, she told him to go with Philosophy.
For Woodcock the story was a little different. It was only after finishing his undergraduate degree in Engineering and working in that field after graduation that he decided to pursue the philosophical interests that he developed during his undergraduate studies. This led, first, to his enrolling in a masters degree program in both Philosophy and Religion, and, then, to pursuing a Ph.D. in Philosophy. While in the latter program, he also took many classes in both Mathematics and Physics. He eventually specialized in the Philosophy of Physics. His dissertation focused on a problem of apparent incompatibility between Quantum Mechanics and Relativity insofar as the process of measurement is concerned.
Decker’s academic interests grew around the topic of epistemology. While writing his dissertation he was intrigued by the topic of possibility. His dissertation focused on the question of the knowledge of possibility. What is possible? What is necessary? But epistemology isn’t the only thing that interests Jason. Jason enjoys playing guitar, watching horror movies, Ethiopian cuisine and what might excite philosophy majors most—brewing beer.
When I asked Brian about his interests outside of Philosophy he had a great deal to say about dancing. Brian enjoys both swing and salsa, and spends much of his free time partner dancing. He also plays trombone and enjoys hiking and running. And if you are interested in enticing him with food you might bring him a plate of Thai or Indian, or more interestingly Persian or Peruvian.
I asked both Jason and Brian about their favorite philosophers and philosophical papers. For Jason, Saul Kripke was a favorite living philosopher because of his conversational tone and clean writing. As for a favorite deceased philosopher Jason chose Rudolph Carnap because of his full investment in philosophical questions. And as a favorite philosophical paper Jason chose Quine’s “Two Dogmas of Empiricism.” Brian resisted choosing favorites, claiming to find valuable insights in nearly every one of the so-called “Great Philosophers” he had read. However, the greatest personal influences on him philosophically have been Jeff Barrett and David Malament, two philosophers of physics that he studied with in California.
Stop by the Philosophy department and say hello to Jason and Brian, our two new professors to the department.