I came to philosophy through
an unusual path. As a young man, I wanted to become a scientist.
I first studied chemistry in Monterrey, Mexico -- my native city
-- and at the University of Connecticut. In Mexico, I worked as
a Chemistry Professor at the college level for eight years. In 1990
I came back to the United States looking for new personal and professional
horizons. While continuing to work in chemical labs, I started taking
philosophy courses. Eventually I left chemistry and obtained a master’s
degree in philosophy from the University of Houston. Then I entered
the PhD philosophy program at the University of Illinois at Chicago,
which I will complete this summer.
Many people have asked me why I switched careers. I tell them that,
while I enjoyed chemistry, I was always more intrigued by philosophical,
political and humanistic questions. I remember that at the libraries
I would stop if front of the philosophy books and wonder what Husserl’s
and Heidegger’s phenomenology or Nietzsche’s genealogies
were all about. At some point I decided to find out and I fell in
love with philosophy. Today, the areas in which I specialize include
moral and political philosophy and value theory. Other areas of
interests comprise philosophy of science, mind, literature, and
Latin American philosophy.
My main goal as a teacher is to help students achieve their maximum
intellectual potential and support their formation as whole persons
and responsible citizens. Only these type of persons can create
a freer, more just and companionate world. And philosophy, as a
constant search for wisdom, is an ideal subject to fulfill this
goal. Philosophy requires less the learning of a specific body of
knowledge than the development of creativity and of many critical
reasoning skills such as analysis, synthesis, deduction and clarity
of expression. It also requires a more emotional component that
includes intellectual curiosity, self confidence and love for learning
and for the text. As a philosophy teacher I focus on developing
these traits, endorsing the idea that we can only learn philosophy
by doing it, either through class debates or through writing. In
teaching, however, I have found that many students often bring to
the dialogue an enthusiasm and insight that continually rekindle
my own love for philosophy. I have also found that, through philosophy,
people can change and improve their lives. It can help us free ourselves
from faulty or costly ways of reasoning and learn to think and act
differently. Helping my students achieve this brings me the highest
sense of accomplishment.
Outside philosophy, I enjoy reading fiction and history, watching
films and practicing yoga. Whenever I have an opportunity, I love
camping, traveling through foreign lands and exploring archeological
sites. I also love going back to my native Mexico and spending quality
time with my family. I live in Chicago (soon moving to Evanston)
with my partner of five years.
|
.jpg)