Undergraduate Spotlight: Brandon Kim

Brandon Kim is a senior in philosophy. He has interests in moral psychology, metaethics and metaphysics, and leads The Dualist, the undergraduate association for philosophy at Stanford. Outside of philosophy, he works at the intersection of journalism and the law. This past summer, he helped with the legal defense of journalists through the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press, and most recently managed Opinions for The Stanford Daily. He enjoys writing, hiking and rooting for the Dodgers.

Why did you choose to participate in the Honors Program in Ethics in Society?

Part of what initially led me to choose the EIS Honors Program was its insistence on support — I've gotten a lot of help with my thesis, from my advisors, the program staff, and of course, my cohort. Joining this program has provided me with an opportunity to explore in a structured setting. It's allowed me to apply what I've learned in philosophy to real-world, pressing issues.

What was the most rewarding aspect of your experience in the Honor’s program? 

In the middle of the winter quarter, we were asked to give a short presentation on our ongoing research to an audience of fellows, advisors, and students. It was a fairly informal setting, but nevertheless rewarding. The chance to talk about my work to a wider group — a group that would really understand, and care about, the issues I've been interested in — really made me feel like everything I'd been working on in the past year mattered. I'm excited to see where this thesis will take me by the end of the year.

How would you describe your thesis research? 

I’m interested in what I term “moral injury”: what harm do you inflict upon yourself when you decide to do something wrong? Is it that you just feel bad about what you’ve done, as in the case of the soldier who kills innocents during war, but feels agonized over it? Is it that you’ve taken on some moral burden, such as blame or guilt? Or might it be something else entirely?

Part of my aim here is to argue that moral injury is a genuine harm that should be treated with empathy, rather than suspicion. This involves arguing against what I have called the "disfiguring lens": the ordinary judgment that if you’ve been morally injured, you’ve somehow been "made ugly" by what they have done wrong. I argue that we should abandon this way of talking about wrongdoing. 

What opportunities would you like to pursue within the next five years?

I'm pretty torn between law school and academia. On the one hand, I'd like to apply my interest in philosophy toward the practical ends of the law. Next year, I'll be looking to pursue opportunities in public interest law, with the intention of applying to law school. That said, I haven't yet ruled out the possibility of going to graduate school, as I'd like to investigate the philosophical — and more specifically, ethical — questions I'm interested in more closely.