秘密研究所

A World of Good

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Posted on December 7, 2021

Thomas Becnel

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While on sabbatical at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, where he鈥檚 writing a book about Aristotle, Dr. Samuel Baker likes to get an early start on his writing and research.

He often rises at 4:30 a.m. to continue his work on the concept of truth as a good in Nicomachean Ethics.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a good thing to do, first thing,鈥� said Baker, an associate professor of philosophy at the 秘密研究所. 鈥淚f the world falls apart in the rest of the day, at least you鈥檝e got a little bit of work done.鈥�

On Tuesday mornings, he travels to Manhattan for a philosophy seminar at New York University. He enjoys visiting the city, but doesn鈥檛 have much time. On Tuesday evenings, he returns to Princeton for a classical Greek reading group.

Baker has had papers published in journals such as Apeiron, Philosophical Studies and Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy. His scholarship has focused on Aristotle鈥檚 definition of happiness, along with the 鈥渆rgon argument鈥� by which Aristotle arrives at that definition. 

鈥淩ight now I am thinking about the way Aristotle conceives of the mind,鈥� Baker said. 鈥淎ristotle claims that the intellect also has a proper ergon, has a proper work, and that ergon is truth, which sounds a little puzzling. I鈥檓 sort of unpacking that claim and explaining the passages that surround it.

鈥淚 argue for an interpretation that may sound a little surprising, but Aristotle believes, I think, in degrees of truth. The central idea is that when one truth causes another truth to be true, the first truth, the cause, is truer than the second. The task is then to build a system where you can arrive at these highest truths. So the pursuit of truth is leading you to these first principles, the causes of all other truths. That鈥檚 kind of the picture.鈥�

If Baker had a working title for his book, he says it might be 鈥淎ristotle on Truth as the Good of the Intellect.鈥�

This fall, he is a member at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. In the spring, he will continue his research thanks to a Loeb Classical Library Foundation Fellowship from Harvard University Press.

Dr. Kevin Meeker, chair of the department of philosophy at South, wasn鈥檛 surprised that Baker won such prestigious fellowships.

鈥淗e鈥檚 done a lot of groundbreaking work in understanding some of Aristotle鈥檚 arguments,鈥� Meeker said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 provided a fresh way of looking at ideas that have been around for a very long time. That鈥檚 a very unusual thing. He鈥檚 convinced a lot of people and it鈥檚 very difficult to convince people of a new reading for an ancient text.鈥�

At the University of Chicago, Dr. Gabriel Richardson Lear is a mentor and colleague who has visited Baker鈥檚 classes in Mobile. 

鈥淪amuel was one of the first undergraduates I taught and I well remember his enthusiastic, penetrating questions,鈥� Lear said. 鈥淥ne of the great joys of my life is that I now routinely assign Samuel鈥檚 papers to my students at the University of Chicago. His interpretation of what Aristotle means by saying that our highest human good is the virtuous fulfillment of our characteristic human 鈥榳ork鈥� is the best I know: clear, subtle, precise and just plain right.鈥�

Dr. Patricio Fernandez, a philosophy professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, is a colleague who is writing a journal article with Baker.

鈥淪amuel is an acute reader of ancient texts in general and Aristotle in particular,鈥� Fernandez said. 鈥淗e is clearly convinced that Aristotle鈥檚 works, particularly his Ethics, are not only of historical interest, but are also of great value for our present moment. I鈥檓 struck by how meticulous he is and sensitive to how far any given philosophical reading of a text can be taken while remaining faithful to the text鈥檚 letter. Several times he has stopped me from taking some of my own readings too far.鈥�

At South, Baker teaches philosophy along with classical languages such as Latin and ancient Greek. It鈥檚 an unusual schedule that fits his research, which includes close reading of untranslated texts.

He鈥檚 grateful for seed grants from the Office of Research and Development at South. One allowed him to participate in an advanced seminar, working with other professors in spoken ancient Greek. 

鈥淚t sounds so useless, but in fact it鈥檚 very hard, when you鈥檙e reading an ancient language, to be as comfortable reading it when you don鈥檛 speak the language,鈥� he said. 鈥淪peaking the language allows you to see a lot more natural transitions between words.鈥�

Some undergraduates at South study Latin through all four semesters taught by Baker. A few go on to take his philosophy courses as well.

He avoids treating language as dusty old text to be translated. There鈥檚 a growing trend in Latin education, particularly at the high school level, that follows a spoken method. 

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the only way to really own the language,鈥� Baker said. 鈥淲hen you can produce the language, you can really own it.鈥� 

Yale, Cambridge, Princeton

Baker grew up in Portsmouth, Virginia, where his father was an accountant. He was an accomplished student at a small Christian school who went on to earn a bachelor鈥檚 degree at Yale, a master鈥檚 degree at Cambridge, and a Ph.D. at Princeton.

His only brother went to West Point and serves in the Army, where he is now a lieutenant colonel.

Baker started off studying English at Yale, but a philosophy class 鈥� Lear鈥檚 philosophy class 鈥� helped him focus on what鈥檚 become his career.

鈥淎ristotle made sense to me in a way that other philosophies didn鈥檛,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was so convincing as an ethical system and I liked how everything fit together so well.鈥�

Baker says he had a difficult time in graduate school and wasn鈥檛 always the best student in ancient language classes. He had to work at Latin and ancient Greek. His research on Aristotle was rewarding, though, and he found success with his analysis and insights.

鈥淭he most important part is that you love it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f you love it, then you can work really hard at it.鈥�

In 2014, Baker converted to Catholicism. He鈥檚 volunteered at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Mobile. Part of his interest came from the study of Catholic philosophers.

鈥淭homas Aquinas is a theologian, and because there are so many different theological issues, he basically mastered the whole corpus of Aristotle in order to answer those questions,鈥� Baker said. 鈥淥f course, he hasn鈥檛 read the text in Greek, so he does make errors, but he鈥檚 a really good interpreter. When you read Aquinas, you start realizing that everything is connected, especially when you are talking about theology, and you have to be sensitive to every area of philosophy.鈥�

After earning his Ph.D., Baker taught at the University of California at Los Angeles.

Before joining the faculty at South in 2015, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the Sorbonne in Paris. He enjoyed the city and improved his French.

In Mobile, he continues his classical research. In February, he will present a paper 鈥� 鈥淚n a Complete Life: Aristotle on the Human Good and Time鈥� 鈥� at a meeting of the American Philosophical Association.

In his spare time, he volunteers with L鈥橝rche Mobile, an organization devoted to people with intellectual disabilities.

鈥淯sually, I鈥檒l just go to share a meal or play cards,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had Bible studies and done arts and crafts.鈥�

Baker sharpens his ancient language skills at retreats where only those languages are spoken. These can be hard to find, but there was one at the Visitation Monastery near his home in the Midtown neighborhood of Mobile.

鈥淭here was only one available this past year in the whole continental U.S.,鈥� he said, laughing, 鈥渁nd it was across the street from where I live.鈥�

At South, he enjoys hiking the Glenn Sebastian Nature Trail on the north side of campus. In Princeton this fall, he relaxes with walks through the Institute Woods, a 600-acre nature preserve.

He appreciates having a sabbatical year to focus on his writing and research. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 a time that鈥檚 refreshing,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always valuable to be in the classroom and have a give and take with the material, but it鈥檚 also good to branch out and have time to pursue your thoughts.鈥�

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