Philosophy is generally an area of study parents do not encourage their children to go into. Most parents consider “good” fields of study to be business, economics, law, or any field of study their child can make a solid career out of. Daniel Aram Hampikian cared less about making millions as a businessman and more about the intellectual things of life. He always saw himself as a philosopher and long considered philosophers to be wise and more compassionate than their get-rich-quick counterparts.

“I first studied philosophy at Georgia State University. I was intrigued as I went to my first couple philosophy classes with the idea that being virtuous and being happy might be one and the same: that happiness might essentially just involve being a moral person,” says Daniel Aram Hampikian. The idea of morality would follow him from his undergraduate degree to the completion of his Ph.D.

After Daniel Aram Hampikian was accepted to the University of Miami for his master’s degree, he was delighted to have the opportunity to learn and study with Mark Rowlands and Michael Slote. Both men had an impact on Daniel Aram Hampikian’s studies and both sat on his dissertation committee, before Daniel Aram Hampikian graduated.Like many graduate students, Daniel Aram Hampikian was nervous about writing his

dissertation. “There was a lot to write about even though the dissertation was focused and had been accepted. Being so focused meant I was spending hours writing and reading. Fortunately, my family understood and supported me,” says Daniel Aram Hampikian.

Inspired about the notion of empathy by Michael Slote and whether animals share a notion of morality with humans by Mark Rowlands, Daniel Aram Hampikian managed to incorporate both into his 2013 dissertation. Daniel Aram Hampikian’s dissertation, “Moral Emotions in Nonhuman Animals,” was defended and approved. Daniel Aram Hampikian’s dissertation was to further the debate of whether animals have morals, and it was his position that yes, some animals do have moral emotions and care about the psychological welfare of others. Daniel Aram Hampikian stated that moral emotions seemed to have evolved to a degree in all mammal species and therefore mammals can be act morally.