Kylee Pastore Asirvatham
Brittney Currie
Philosophy
Assistant Professor
Bio
Britt Currie is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at CCNY. I’m a philosopher of cognitive science and moral psychology. My research focuses on the nature of empathy, the role of social and moral norms in everyday interactions, and the psychology of moral decision-making; I also consider whether social cognitive processes can be, or ought to be, realized in artificial agents or systems. Recently, I've been considering what a trauma-informed account of empathy might look like. Some of my research is empirical, and much of it is collaborative—but all of my research is motivated by my philosophical wonder about how the mind works, especially when it considers moral content. I did my PhD at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, my MSc in Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, and my MA in Critical Theory at King’s College London. If I am not philosophizing, then I’m painting, doing theatre, or writing poetry.
1. What questions, ideas, or creative concerns are at the center of your work right now?
Right now, my research is focused on how we come to understand each other. I am considering: How and why do people empathize with each other? Can empathizing with others teach us something new about ourselves? Is empathy something that can be modeled, simulated, or realized in artificial agents or systems? I collaborate with philosophers and cognitive scientists to pursue empirical work aimed at understanding the fundamental nature of moral cognition.
2. What drew you to CCNY and to teaching within the Division of Humanities and the Arts?
I am drawn to teaching at CCNY because the mission aligns with my values. I am a student-centered educator eager to engage a community that values excellent and accessible education. Moreover, I am originally from New York, so this feels like a homecoming!
3. What do you hope CCNY students will experience, discover, or reconsider in your classroom?
I hope that my students and I can wonder together, philosophically and curiously, through some of the most fundamental questions: What makes for a good or happy life? What morally motivates people to act? Is the mind the same thing as the brain? What is the aim of science, and how do we know when we are making scientific progress? How might appreciating or doing art help us understand the nature of what it means to be human?
4. How has a particular text, artwork, mentor, place, or experience shaped the direction of your work?
There are at least two notable experiences that ground my philosophical inquiry. Firstly, my experiences doing improvisational theatre led me to reconsider a question I once took for granted: How do human beings create, pretend, and explore possibilities together? What is creativity, and what cognitive and/or emotional processes describe or explain what’s going on when we’re creating?
Second, while I was in grad school, I had the opportunity, as a philosopher, to work in two labs: a quantitative psychology lab and a developmental cognition lab. Having the opportunity to do interdisciplinary work in the psychological sciences forever changed my career path. Because I had a mentor who believed in me, mentored me, and challenged me to do empirical work, I was able to explore the world in new ways. I enjoy mentoring my students in ways that can help them achieve their interdisciplinary goals and support their desires to explore new career paths.
5. What are you most excited to contribute to—or explore within—the intellectual and creative community at CCNY?
At CCNY, I want to become rooted in this learning community by joining labs in the psychological sciences, thinking together in reading groups, and exploring the creativity that is going on in the city, particularly as it relates to theatrical improvising. I look forward to thinking, writing, and creating with my students and colleagues. I hope to participate in efforts that support my students and my colleagues in realizing their needs and goals; I want to contribute to my community's joy.