In our most recent "how can we help you?" thread, a reader writes:
Is a shy and timid person suitable for a philosophical profession? I am a phd student and not outgoing, and in fact quite unconfident. I usually doubt whether I am right when I defend my view. But I see so many philosophers confident and decisive. In fact, I barely meet anyone like me in this profession. I am wondering whether a timid person could do philosophy.
Great question, and I am curious to hear how readers answer, particularly those of you who match the OP's description. If you're shy and timid, have you found yourself 'suitable' for the profession? Have you been able to flourish? If so, how? Did you have to work to overcome your tendencies?
It might surprise some readers to hear this, but as I wrote in a post five years ago, I'm actually extremely shy and introverted. When I took the Big Five Personality inventory a while back (a very well-validated psychological instrument), I scored in the 7th percentile in extraversion. That means approximately 93% of people are more extraverted than me. And I'll be honest: learning to flourish in the profession was a real challenge for me. In graduate school, my tendencies for a time led me into real trouble. For a few years, I avoided departmental functions (such as hangouts at the pub after colloquium talks), didn't take part in reading groups, didn't attend professors' office hours to chat or ask for help, or set up meetings with them. After several years, I finally realized that these tendencies were hurting me professionally, and so I made a conscious effort to do the opposite of all of the above: I forced myself to attend department functions, reading groups, set up meetings with faculty for coffee, appear energetic and engaged around people, etc. – and it made a huge difference.
Anyway, my own experience is that it is possible to flourish in the profession as an introvert (I still work mostly alone, in fact). But, in my case at least, it has taken a lot of hard work to learn how to flourish, vis-a-vis overcoming my natural tendencies to avoid group situations, appear withdrawn, etc. Finally, though, one thing I'm not is timid – and I do imagine that timidity presents unique challenges of its own. My own experience has been that in order to flourish in the profession, one needs to 'put oneself out there', as it were. One needs to submit work to conferences and journals consistently, for example, in order to publish enough to get a job, etc. And so if timidity leads one not to do those things, I imagine it could be a real issue (though again, natural inclinations aren't destiny – one can work to overcome them!).
These are just my thoughts, though. What are yours? Any shy, timid philosophers out there with tips or experiences to relate to the OP?
Leave a Reply to Assistant prof 2Cancel reply