Student Spotlight - Andrew Rubner
Andrew Rubner
Q: What is your current class standing and anticipated graduation date?
I'm a senior, and planning to graduate in the spring 2017 semester.
Q: What are your major(s) and/or minor(s)?
I'm a Philosophy major and a Classics minor.
Q: Why did you choose to be a philosophy major?
I became a Philosophy major because as a kid, I always liked puzzles and abstract questions, and I found that Philosophy focuses on both of these things.
Q: What are your goals for the future? Do you have plans to attend graduate school, or do you have a career in mind upon graduation? What type of career are you seeking upon graduation?
After Brooklyn College, I plan on applying to a wide range of graduate schools, and go down the long tortuous path of professional academia.
Q: What are your interests in philosophy?
My interests in philosophy include Epistemology, Formal and Alternative Logics, History of Analytic Philosophy, and Medieval Rationality (I know there's a lot, but I'm still young).
Q: Who are your favorite philosophers?
The Vienna Circle (especially Carnap and Schlick), Quine, Timothy Williamson, Russell, William of Ockham, David Hume, and Gilbert Ryle.
Q: Do you have a favorite quote by a philosopher?
"If we take in our hands any volume; of divinity, or school metaphysics, for instance; let us ask, does it contain any abstract reasoning concerning quantity or number? No. Does it contain any experimental reasoning concerning matter of fact and existence? No. Commit it to the flames. For it can contain nothing but sophistry and illusion."—David Hume
Q: What is your favorite book in philosophy?
Language, Truth and Logic, by A.J Ayer.
Q: Have you had any recent accomplishments such as conferences you attended or presented at, awards or scholarships you have won? Contests you have won? Publications you have made?
I won the Kitty and Lou Newman Memorial Scholarship last year. Thanks to all my professors!
Q: What are one or two fun facts about you?
I have been the philosophy tutor for a little over a year now, and I edit a student-run journal named The Brooklyn College Review.
