Browse Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education

Michael Scott Carbonaro

Ravenswood Reads Tutor, Haas Center for Public Service
Undergraduate, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education

BioUndergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy at Stanford (starting Autumn Quarter 2023). My philosophical interests vary, but they are generally Epistemology, Skepticism (particularly Pyrrhonism), Feminism, and Existentialism. I am interested mostly in the analytic tradition, but find much value in the continental tradition as well. Skepticism is currently my primary interest -- both in ancient and contemporary ways -- as a way of life and as important for a critical and open mind. I read "The Skeptic Way: Sextus Empiricus' Outlines of Pyrrhonism" by Benson Mates as an independent study at College of Marin and continue to read ancient and contemporary readings (such as more of Sextus Empiricus' works and the Oxford Handbook of Skepticism). I find that the Skepticism of Sextus is closely related to Existentialism and hope to explore this, alongside logical and skeptical arguments within contemporary Epistemology. Feminism is newer for me, but also of great importance for exploring issues of gender and sexuality in a currently politically charged climate. I hope to push back against gender/biological essentialist literature, as well as bridge Skepticism into this discipline.

As for general background, I was born in Mountain View, California in 1998, moved from Palo Alto to Novato at the age of 5, and have been there ever since. I was fortunate to find philosophy in high school, where I was given the opportunity to take a class at San Marin. My passion thus grew after high school, which caused me to return after a short break to college at College of Marin and receive my Associates Degree for Transfer in Philosophy.

Outside of all of this, I am an avid lover of cinema, having watched over 250 films over the last 3 years, usually related to the Criterion Collection. I love all kind of movies, whether it be artsy-fartsy like Yi Yi, campy like Terminator 2, or spooky like Tetsuo the Iron Man. I play guitar and video games casually. Music I like is prog/post rock, electronic ambience, and more recently rap music. Video games range from brain dead shooters to story driven RPGs like Fallout. I play Magic the Gathering, a trading card game I've been obsessed with since I was 15, roughly 10 years ago.