Research Postgraduate students

Henry Merivale

PhD Student

After growing up in London, I read maths and philosophy as an undergraduate, followed by just philosophy as a graduate, at Oxford University. 

I came to Leeds University in 2008 to work for the Electronic Text Centre, a small outfit set up to provide IT support for humanities researchers.  Among other things, we've produced a database of all the trade records of a Swiss publishing house in the years leading up to the French revolution, and an on-line corpus of texts by the 18th century Scottish philosopher David Hume. In 2009 I started my PhD here - also (not coincidentally) on David Hume - which I am pursuing part time alongside my job.

Why I decided to undertake a PhD

I would happily spend my life teaching and continuing to learn, so hanging around universities seems like a good idea.  And studying for a PhD is the natural next step towards a career in academia.  Not that that's definitely where I'm going; I applied simply because I love the research (and the teaching on the side) right now, whatever comes next.  I initially came to Leeds for the job.  But I quickly found the philosophy department to be a lively and welcoming place - even in the year before I officially joined them as a student.

The most important things for a PhD are your supervisors and the research community.  If there are people here working on things that interest you, and one or two in particular who you feel would make good supervisors, then it'll be a good place for you to be.  The university and the town will take care of the rest; anything the University library can't provide you with immediately (there shouldn't be much) they'll borrow from somewhere else, and the Leeds Brewery makes very fine beer.

Why I am passionate about Philosophy

I'm sort of a philosopher by accident. I only vaguely knew what the subject was when I began studying it at university, and I've since realised that what really interest me are questions about people - how we think, how we talk, what belief is, why we believe the things we believe.  This is as much cognitive science as it is philosophy.  David Hume, the subject of my thesis, was interested in precisely these same sorts of questions.  Add to that the fact that he's been dead for over 200 years, and you've got a nice mix of philosophy, psychology, and history, catering to a lot of what interests me. 

As to why these things interest me in the first place, I couldn't really say; other than that I like getting clear about stuff, and the human mind is often opaque.

My scholarship award

The philosophy department was extremely helpful in my applying for funding, and directed me towards all the appropriate opportunities.  

I had to submit a thesis proposal, academic references, and a written sample to the department, who then agreed to support my application to the Faculty of Arts for their central PhD scholarship competition. Naturally the scholarship helps enormously with the costs of doing a PhD (my part-time salary alone wouldn't cover it), and being selected is a nice confidence boost as well.

Support and supervision

My supervisors are lovely people, who give me a lot more of their time than they are obliged to.  One of them is also my boss at the Etext Centre, Peter Millican, and we have a great working relationship.  I think it's nice for both of us to work together on things of mutual interest, and to share our ideas.  Last year we both spoke at the annual international Hume Society conference, and he was able to introduce me to several leading Hume scholars, whom I previously knew only by name.  Not to mention that he knows David Hume inside out, and is an invaluable source of information and advice.

Internet, books and people

There's a joke among mathematicians that theirs is the second cheapest department in the university, because all they need is a pencil, a notepad, and a waste-paper basket; philosophy is the cheapest, because they don't need the basket.  I find that all I need is a computer with the internet, books, and intelligent people around to talk to and bounce ideas off.  Leeds has plenty of all three.

Outside of academia

I really like my job, so that's quite handy.  I like going for walks.  I like going for a drink with my friends.  Otherwise, I like to write humorous songs and play them in pubs around town.  You can hear me at the Grove Inn most Wednesdays, one of the friendliest pubs in Leeds.