MEET OUR GRADUATES: David Kendall Casey, Philosopher

David Kendall Casey, who graduated magna cum laude, has been accepted into one of the top master’s degree programs in the country for philosophy – Georgia State University, where he will major in neurophilosophy.

Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Kendall Casey moved with his family to East Greenwich, Rhode Island, at age 15. In his senior year of high school, he returned to Indiana to graduate from Park Tudor School, where his parents met and graduated. For one semester, he attended the University of San Francisco (USF), only to return to East Greenwich and commute to RIC. 

“I still hadn’t figured out what I wanted to do as far as a major,” he said, “so I decided to take courses at a less costly school – Rhode Island College – and I ended up staying here. I found that there was no qualitative difference between the education I was receiving at RIC and the education I received at USF, which cost 10 times more. I saved a lot of money and received the same quality education.” 

Kendall Casey would also find his calling at RIC.

Though he first declared his major as biology, through internships he was able to explore his multidisciplinary interests. He held an internship at Roger Williams Medical Center, working with Dr. Steven Katz on CAR-T immunotherapy, to gain an understanding of medical research. He interned at Atrion Networking Corporation, working with data analytics, to gain an understanding of the corporate sector. As a congressional intern for U.S. Rep. David Cicilline and communications intern for R.I. Gov. Gina Raimondo, he gained greater insight into the legislative and executive branches of government. 

In his junior year, Kendall Casey decided on a philosophy major, he said, “because philosophy embraces so many of the disciplines. Almost all of the natural sciences were born out of questions philosophers were asking.” 

Kendall Casey also joined the Phi Sigma Tau International Honor Society, co-founded the RIC Philosophy Club, was awarded departmental honors in philosophy as well as the Thomas J. Howell Award in Philosophy for outstanding achievement in the pursuit of philosophical study.

As a graduate student, his focus of study will be in the same area of philosophy for which he wrote his undergraduate thesis. His interest is in cognitive philosophy or philosophy of the mind, which attempts to answer such questions as “What is the mind?” “How does the mind work?” “What can mental disorders tell us about the mind?” “How is the mind related to the body?”

His long-term goal is to attend Yale University, which has the only dual Ph.D. program in psychology and philosophy in the country. With doctorates in both fields, Kendall Casey will be able to work in any or all of the following areas: theoretical psychology, moral psychology, philosophy of psychiatry and philosophy of cognitive science.

“David has many academic virtues,” said RIC Assistant Professor of Philosophy Matt​​ Duncan. “He is intelligent, hard-working and exceptionally engaged. I have never taught a more captivated, curious and communicative student.” Duncan himself attended Georgia State University’s graduate program in philosophy and inspired Kendall Casey to apply there. 

“I consider Dr. Duncan both a mentor and friend,” said Kendall Casey. “I am grateful for this opportunity.” The young philosopher is also excited about​ beginning study in the fall. He said, “The essence of philosophy is that every time you think you even get close to an answer, two or three more questions pop up. A more scientific mind might get frustrated because they are trying to encapsulate knowledge. But the philosophical mind is fine with knowledge being open-ended and studied unto infinity.”