Why trans philosophy?
To quote trans philosopher Talia Mae Bettcher:
"We trans people live an 'everyday' shot through with perplexity, shot through with WTF questions. We live in the WTF. [...] If philosophy is going to give us anything at all, it had better be answers or at least some partial, provisional illumination. Otherwise, it cannot help us. In this light, therefore, I do not see the chief function of trans philosophy as negative or critical. I see it as primarily constructive, positive, illuminating, and orienting. I do think here that philosophy is uniquely positioned to address WTF rather than, say, sociology or psychology or anthropology—precisely because the WTF is so all-embracing, so personal, indeed, existential in nature." (651-652)
Bettcher, Talia Mae (2019). What Is Trans Philosophy? Hypatia 34 (4):644-667.
Why pursue independent scholarship?
Simply put, I just don't feel like waiting until I manage to get back into traditional academia to be involved in academia. I'm interested in these things right now, and I'm gonna research them and write about them whether or not I'm involved in a particular academic program.
Also, I believe that there is a dearth of trans philosophers and trans philosophy in general. It might be that cis philosophers talk about us (and they do), but in my opinion, trans philosophy is best conducted by trans people. However, due to epistemic injustices, traditional academia isn't as accessible to trans people as it would be to cis people. Not to mention that academic philosophy is difficult to get into even if you're cis and privileged in other ways, in part due to the fact that philosophy departments are being downsized or altogether eliminated all over the place. I guess philosophy is not considered "profitable" enough.
What does independent scholarship entail, exactly?
I'm only just starting out, so I'm not entirely sure yet. For now the plan is to conduct research, think a bunch, write papers, and submit them to various academic journals for publication and peer review. And if some academics reading this want to reach out to me—out of the goodness of their hearts—to give me some advice, I would be grateful (pauljohnpoles at gmail dot com).
However, since my main objective is to attempt to "address WTF" for the benefit of all trans people—not just the ones who read academic papers—I also plan to regularly publish essays on Medium, as well as video essays on Youtube.
Why be involved in academia at all though? Why not just stick to publishing your essays on Medium and Youtube?
We all have our cognitive biases and blind spots, and submitting papers to peer reviewed journals seems like a good way of receiving constructive criticism from people with the knowledge and skills required to provide it most effectively. Also, if I succeed in getting my work published in said journals, this will likely increase my perceived credibility among other scholars, which means that they will be more likely to engage with my work.
With that said, it would be wrong to think that the only people qualified to provide constructive criticism are those who are involved in traditional academia. Submitting papers for peer review is only one way of receiving constructive criticism. I also expect that I will receive constructive criticism in response to the essays I intend to upload on Medium and Youtube.
Email: pauljohnpoles at gmail dot com
