“I am and have always been a very curious person, I have had many interests, and the scope of the philosophy is broad enough that allows me to address most of those interests in my work. " With these words Zachary Hugo, the first Ph.D. in Philosophy at the Alberto Hurtado University describes that sum of elements that ultimately influenced him to dedicate himself to a profession like his: to be a philosopher
Part of his biography says he is the son of a religiously diverse family, his father is a therapist and psychologist and from a young age he instilled in him the need to always reflect on life and the world. "According to the philosopher of my doctoral research, Edmund Husserl, reflection is the philosophical attitude par excellence. I think that's completely true”, comment But in addition to his motivation to learn, Zachary recognizes that he always had an intellectual affinity for language and writing, and in school he did very well in the humanities and was very interested in science. "It seems to me that philosophy brings together the rigor and precision of the sciences, with the depth and breadth of the humanities (even if that characterization of the disciplines is a bit forced). He completed his undergraduate studies at Loyola University Chicago, and entered with the intention of studying psychology, because "he was interested in deepening issues related to the mind, cognition and psychological development. But in the first semester he took a philosophy course and felt, at that time still very incipient, that this discipline addressed all the problems that interested him, but conceptually more rigorously than in psychology. But, beyond the objects of study of both careers, was a professor of the first course of philosophy, Dr. Hugh Miller, the factor that convinced him most in changing his career officially. "It is difficult to explain the impact he had on my intellectual and professional development. Dr. Miller is a true genius, he started studying at Yale when he was 16 years old, he's a spectacular educator, a professional theater actor and it showed in every class, and he's just a good person. " His admiration for him motivated him to concentrate more and more on philosophy. At the end of the semester, they communicated and the teacher told him that he was the student who had taken the highest grade in all his courses and that it would be a pity if he did not study philosophy. "That same day I changed my career and I have never repented”.
After studying the undergraduate program at Loyola University, Chicago made an exchange to Chile for the opportunity provided by the worldwide network of agreements of the Jesuit universities, and in 2012, he decided to return to the Alberto Hurtado University. He contacted the professors of the Faculty of Philosophy and Humanities; Roberto Rubio and Eduardo Molina who asked him to translate some papers, and then to apply for the new Doctorate program that started in 2013. "It seemed to me that the UAH offered exactly what I was looking for. And now I can confirm with confidence that yes they gave me so many important tools for my academic future. I am very grateful for my education at the Alberto Hurtado University, "he says.
-¿Con qué investigación lograste el doctorado?-
-El título de mi tesis doctoral es “The Normativity of Perceptual Experience Husserl’s Phenomenology”. Se trata del problema, con raíces en Kant y varios filósofos contemporáneos, de caracterizar las condiciones de posibilidad de conocimiento empírico, y en particular, del rol que juega la percepción en ese conocimiento. Los procesos y eventos en el mundo natural siguen leyes causales (estudiadas por las varias ciencias). Pero el conocimiento, según esta línea de pensamiento, no se rige por relaciones causales, sino normativas. Las relaciones causales entre mente y mundo solo nos dicen lo que de hecho sucede, pero el conocimiento atañe a solo las relaciones exitosas entre mente y mundo. Ese último pasa cuando, cuando percibimos el mundo tal como es, y eso implica que hay una manera en que el mundo debe ser percibido. Mi investigación doctoral muestra cómo la percepción sensible visual es un proceso de conocimiento del mundo empírico que se regula por normas (las cuales estipulan lo que debe suceder en la percepción). Y sostengo que la fenomenología de Husserl es la filosofía más adecuada y exhaustiva para abordar este tema.
-¿Cómo ves el aporte profesional de la disciplina en el mundo actual?-
-Es una pregunta muy grande, y ciertamente hay muchas respuestas válidas. Me detendré en lo que atañe a mi área de especialización en la filosofía. Se suele pensar, desde Aristóteles que los humanos somos animales racionales, y así nos distinguimos de otros animales (nuestro así-llamado “human uniqueness”). Una manera de entender esa racionalidad es en términos de nuestra habilidad de seguir normas, paradigmáticamente las convenciones del lenguaje. Creo que esa idea ha infiltrado nuestra auto-concepción de manera muy profunda, y además tiene muchas consecuencias prácticas en nuestra vida cotidiana.
Según Zachary Hugo, los planes académicos no terminan con su PhD por lo pronto seguirá trabajando en su tema de investigación, y postulará a una beca post-doctoral en alguna universidad de Europa o los Estados Unidos. Es posible que vuelva a Chile, pero por ahora su Wanderlust le exige seguir viajando y conociendo otras partes del mundo. Mientras tanto vivirá en Pittsburgh, EEUU, y trabajará como editor y traductor.
“Huelga decir que mi meta es eventualmente ganar un puesto fijo en alguna universidad, pero para ello tengo que seguir publicando e investigando”, concluye.
El programa de Doctorado en Filosofía de la Universidad Alberto Hurtado convoca a profesionales de alto nivel y tiene como uno de sus objetivos principales promover la investigación filosófica en áreas específicas que son la Fenomenología y Hermenéutica, Mente, Lenguaje y Conocimiento e Historia de la Filosofía (Antigua y Moderna especialmente).
