The overarching theme of my research is the intersection between phenomenology, embodiment, Latin American and Caribbean culture generally, and Puerto Rican culture specifically. I examine the various ways in which experience is given differently according to different kinds of activity and cultural elements. That is, my research looks to understand the way in which the body is given from within particular modes of givenness which correlate to different kinds of cultural activities be they communal, aesthetic, political, or religious. Such research situates me within the discipline of philosophy on the border between epistemology, metaphysics, and value fields. As a result, my research incorporates epistemic, aesthetic, and ethical elements as essential components to the overall project.
My current research is focused on two key areas of interest: Decolonial Theory (specifically Puerto Rican philosophy) as it relates to embodiment and translating decolonial thinking into pedagogical frameworks. The former brings my work on embodiment together with my interests in Latin American and Caribbean thought in an effort to "shift the geography of reason" when it comes to phenomenological accounts of embodiment. The latter project is one where I seek to deepen and develop more inclusive and equitable ways of thinking about teaching and learning.
In short, I’m interested in the ways in which race and ethnicity inform bodily understanding. Some philosophers of race and ethnicity tend to take a more historical or genealogical approach when discussing these subjects and I am interested in how such an approach informs and challenges phenomenological approaches to race and ethnicity. This project is born out of my attempt to understand myself as a Latinx scholar as well as my conversations with various scholarly colleagues and students in my classes. Thus, this project is born out of my teaching and seeks to continually reimagine what teaching and learning can be. At the moment, I am in the early stages of planning out a scholarly monograph on the pedagogy project and am working on the first of several journal articles related to the embodiment project.
Underlying all of this current research is my dissertation work. My exploration of the intersections between epistemology, ethics, and metaphysics are prevalent throughout my dissertation: “A Phenomenology of Incarnate Experience.” In this dissertation, I argue that the subfield of philosophy of religion, in its contemporary continental form, has fallen prey to two key problems: doctrinal importation and allusory ambiguity. With doctrinal importation philosophers import a theological doctrine and employ it conceptually without detailing why such employment is necessary and unproblematic. Thus, while the lines between philosophy and theology have been blurred in the post-deconstruction/post-liberal era of philosophy of religion, doctrinal importation exploits the porousness of these disciplinary borders. Similarly disregarding the differences between phenomenology and theology, “allusory ambiguity” occurs when these religiously minded philosophers employ religious terminology as a means of alluding to the strength and/or meaningful weight accorded to the theological doctrines but from within a philosophical framework. Case in point, Merleau-Ponty uses embodiment and incarnation interchangeably in Phenomenology of Perception but when he does so while talking about communion, expect there to be a slew of essays examining these few lines in great detail. Simply put, disrespecting the methodological and conceptual differences between philosophy and theology results in confusion and problematic accounts of religious phenomena.
My dissertation attempts to eschew these two problems while offering up a phenomenology of the body that takes into account the methodological innovations of newer phenomenologists. The process I chose was one of working through four key phenomenologists--Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Emmanuel Levinas, Jean-Luc Marion, and Michel Henry--in order to glean what I could from their phenomenological investigations before turning to a more systematic approach in the conclusion. The result of such work is the formulation of four key elements constitutive of incarnate experience. I argue that incarnate experience--as a kind of embodied experience--is absolute, irreversible, excessive, and self-disposing. Such criteria are useful for further developing a phenomenology of the body that is not a repetition of previous studies while also maintaining a methodological separation from theological studies. Again, this research serves as the theoretical background for my current projects.
Ultimately, my goal with research is to provide further means for better understanding between human beings. By approaching my research in a qualitative way and focusing on life as it is experienced, I hope to aid in explicating the complexity of human existence and the world in which we live.
My current research is focused on two key areas of interest: Decolonial Theory (specifically Puerto Rican philosophy) as it relates to embodiment and translating decolonial thinking into pedagogical frameworks. The former brings my work on embodiment together with my interests in Latin American and Caribbean thought in an effort to "shift the geography of reason" when it comes to phenomenological accounts of embodiment. The latter project is one where I seek to deepen and develop more inclusive and equitable ways of thinking about teaching and learning.
In short, I’m interested in the ways in which race and ethnicity inform bodily understanding. Some philosophers of race and ethnicity tend to take a more historical or genealogical approach when discussing these subjects and I am interested in how such an approach informs and challenges phenomenological approaches to race and ethnicity. This project is born out of my attempt to understand myself as a Latinx scholar as well as my conversations with various scholarly colleagues and students in my classes. Thus, this project is born out of my teaching and seeks to continually reimagine what teaching and learning can be. At the moment, I am in the early stages of planning out a scholarly monograph on the pedagogy project and am working on the first of several journal articles related to the embodiment project.
Underlying all of this current research is my dissertation work. My exploration of the intersections between epistemology, ethics, and metaphysics are prevalent throughout my dissertation: “A Phenomenology of Incarnate Experience.” In this dissertation, I argue that the subfield of philosophy of religion, in its contemporary continental form, has fallen prey to two key problems: doctrinal importation and allusory ambiguity. With doctrinal importation philosophers import a theological doctrine and employ it conceptually without detailing why such employment is necessary and unproblematic. Thus, while the lines between philosophy and theology have been blurred in the post-deconstruction/post-liberal era of philosophy of religion, doctrinal importation exploits the porousness of these disciplinary borders. Similarly disregarding the differences between phenomenology and theology, “allusory ambiguity” occurs when these religiously minded philosophers employ religious terminology as a means of alluding to the strength and/or meaningful weight accorded to the theological doctrines but from within a philosophical framework. Case in point, Merleau-Ponty uses embodiment and incarnation interchangeably in Phenomenology of Perception but when he does so while talking about communion, expect there to be a slew of essays examining these few lines in great detail. Simply put, disrespecting the methodological and conceptual differences between philosophy and theology results in confusion and problematic accounts of religious phenomena.
My dissertation attempts to eschew these two problems while offering up a phenomenology of the body that takes into account the methodological innovations of newer phenomenologists. The process I chose was one of working through four key phenomenologists--Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Emmanuel Levinas, Jean-Luc Marion, and Michel Henry--in order to glean what I could from their phenomenological investigations before turning to a more systematic approach in the conclusion. The result of such work is the formulation of four key elements constitutive of incarnate experience. I argue that incarnate experience--as a kind of embodied experience--is absolute, irreversible, excessive, and self-disposing. Such criteria are useful for further developing a phenomenology of the body that is not a repetition of previous studies while also maintaining a methodological separation from theological studies. Again, this research serves as the theoretical background for my current projects.
Ultimately, my goal with research is to provide further means for better understanding between human beings. By approaching my research in a qualitative way and focusing on life as it is experienced, I hope to aid in explicating the complexity of human existence and the world in which we live.