Herr Paulo Peña
Philosophy
Biografie
Paulo Peña is a PhD candidate in philosophy at the Bergische Universität Wuppertal, Germany. He researches the epistemological intersection of Fichte's doctrine of drives (Trieblehre) and Husserl's genetic analyses, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Alexander Schnell. His research focuses on the role of the drive (Trieb) in the theory of knowledge, delving into German idealism and transcendental phenomenology.
He holds an advanced master's degree in philosophical research from the Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven), where he graduated with honors with a thesis on Fichte's concept of drive. He also earned an MA in Philosophy from KU Leuven with a specialization in Husserlian genetic epistemology, and a BA in Philosophy from the University of Guadalajara, with a thesis focused on the concept of Totality in Hegel's system in contrast to the theories of knowledge of Kant and Fichte.
His research experience includes a fellowship from the Freie Universität Berlin, where he studied Hegel's thought during the Jena period, and a summer research stay at the Kierkegaard Library at St. Olaf College, where he explored the notion of commitment in Kierkegaard's late work. He has also taught undergraduate reading seminars as Professor Assistant at KU Leuven and has taught courses on classical German philosophy at bachelor’s level.
Paulo Peña has presented papers at international conferences, including the 2022 Kant Leuven Conference, and has published work in the journals Revista de Estud(i)os sobre Fichte and Anuario Filosófico. His research contributes to philosophical discussions on German Idealism, theory of knowledge, Transcendental Phenomenology, and Latin American philosophy.
Title and abstract of thesis project:
A Drive to Knowledge: An inquiry on the intersection between Fichte’s Trieblehre and Husserl’s Genetic Analyses
This project investigates the relationship between reason and affections from an epistemological perspective: the role of the notion of drive in the process of acquisition of cognitions. I claim that the concept of drive operates at the basis of our cognitive activity, as a bridging element that connects knowing and acting. Drawing from Fichte’s epistemological formulation of the notion of drive and Husserl’s analyses of the genetic structures that conform the mind’s possibility of knowledge, this research seeks to coordinate Idealism with Transcendental Phenomenology, to expound the concept of drive as a condition for self-consciousness, the acquisition of cognitions, and the affective constitution of the mind. In short, this project aims to examine the notion of drive as a nuclear element for a theory of cognition by 1) analyzing the genetic structures by which motivational states constitute the mind’s surrounding world by the force of drive and 2) exploring the role of drive in terms of normativity, values, and the structuring of everyday experience.
Papers already presented:
Peña Hurtado, Paulo Eugenio. Salomon Maimon’s differentials: between the subject and the thing in itself. Oral presentation delivered at the «Leuven Kant Conference 2022 – Kant and his Early Critics: Research Master Workshop», Leuven, Belgium, May 27th, 2022.
Peña Hurtado, Paulo Eugenio. La noción de ‘compromiso’ en Kierkegaard: consideraciones éticas y políticas (The notion of ‘commitment’ in Kierkegaard: ethical and political considerations). Conference delivered as a part of the cycle of conferences «Filosofía en el Fondo», Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, April 17th, 2013.
Publications:
Peña Hurtado, Paulo Eugenio. 2024. “The Role of the Concept of Drive in Fichte’s Theory of Knowledge.” Revista de Estud(i)os sobre Fichte [online], 25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/125xa
Peña Hurtado, Paulo Eugenio. “La Totalidad: Levinas y Dussel, un diálogo disruptivo (Totality: Levinas and Dussel, a disruptive dialogue).” In J. Ortiz et al, eds., El papel de la Filosofía Latinoamericana en la actualidad, 1st ed., (Universidad de Guadalajara: Guadalajara, 2016), 71-79. Available at: www.publicaciones.cucsh.udg.mx/kiosko/2016/el-papel-de-la-filosofia-latinoamericana.pdf
Other academic activities and memberships:
2011 – Present: Founding member of the Sociedad Académica Kierkegaard, A.C. (Guadalajara, Jalisco, México)
