Héctor Ricardo Hernández is a senior at Yale University from Bogotá, Colombia majoring in Philosophy and German Studies. He is interested in Critical Theory, Latin American philosophy of liberation, and environmental philosophy. Next year he will pursue a masters degree in Germany. Héctor was one of the winners of the 2019 APA Undergraduate Philosophy Competition.
What excites you about philosophy?
I started college thinking I would study environmental engineering and international relations. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do career-wise, but one of my long-standing goals is to return to Colombia and, in the broadest meaning of the phrase, “do something for the country.” Fairly early on, I realized that the fields of study asking the questions that really interested me were in the humanities. Before I could productively think about practical problems and solutions, I felt that it was necessary for me to consider how understand our existence and how we, through literature and culture, relate to each other. Once you start thinking in those terms, you start seeing that every decision and historical narrative hinges on some sort of philosophical assumption, even if it goes unstated. Philosophy excites me because it is what’s at stake at every moment. Once you start, you keep going because the next question seems even more vital in your line of questioning.
What is your favorite thing that you’ve written?
That would have to be an essay titled “Finding the Chicken of the Woods: The World of Fungi,” which was featured on the APA Blog earlier this year. I wrote a first version of the essay for a class that pushed to the limits what I imagined philosophy could be.
What are you working on right now?
I recently finished my undergraduate senior theses for Philosophy and German Studies. My philosophy thesis dealt with Jürgen Habermas and Argentine philosopher-anthropologist Rodolfo Kusch on communicative action and ideal speech situations in transcultural contexts. I wanted to sketch the extent to which German critical theory can have a place in Latin America. My second essay had as its starting point Wittgenstein’s account of the word “seeing” as described in Philosophical Investigations. I took a more literary turn, looking for objects in Franz Kafka and Jorge Luis Borges’ short stories that seem to be incongruous with Wittgenstein’s account of “seeing.” In a surprising way, the objects that resist being seen, “smudges,” as I called them, ended up fleshing out, rather than contradicting, Wittgenstein’s description.
As finals approach, I’ll begin working on essays on interdisciplinarity in universities, reading Niklas Luhmann, Giorgio Agamben, and Alexander Weheliye, and on ordinary language philosophy, reading Stanley Cavell and J.L. Austin.
What’s your personal philosophy?
I collected quotes in elementary school. Whenever I found a quote I liked, I’d cut it out and tape it on my door. I only distinctly remember three, mostly because I used to spout them off whenever I felt they were applicable:
“Things turn out best for the ones who make the best of the way things turn out,” (Jack Buck)
“The only things you regret are the things you didn’t do.” (Zachary Scott)
“All of human knowledge can be contained in these two words: Wait and Hope” (Alexandre Dumas)
That might have been as close to a personal philosophy as I got. I still like them because they’re fun to say, not because I believe them very much. (Some are patently false). If I have a personal philosophy now, it’s not one I could articulate.
What are you reading right now? Would you recommend it?
I’m reading The White Castle by Christian Dittloff and Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche. It’s interesting to see how Dittloff’s book has been received — it’s been called dystopian science fiction, but it describes a world that, if it doesn’t already exist, is entirely possible. If that’s a dystopia, then we’re in the midst of it now. I’m not very far into Americanah but I certainly recommend it. The observations the protagonist makes about what strikes and confuses her resonate strongly with how I’ve felt as an immigrant, perhaps in the United States, even though our backgrounds are very different.
What would your childhood self say if someone told you that you would grow up to be a philosopher?
My parents tell me that as I child I said I wanted to study philosophy and paint houses, so I suppose if you had told me half of that would be true, I’d be pretty satisfied. I don’t know if I’d call myself a philosopher, however.
What time of day are you most productive and creative?
I’m both a morning person and a night person, but I never get anything done during the midday hours. In college, 9 AM courses don’t bother me at all — it’s the 1:30 PMs that get me.
Who is your favorite philosopher and why?
Walter Benjamin, without a doubt. I first read Benjamin in a course on medieval Chinese poetry, and it set me on the path to study Critical Theory, Heidegger, and, eventually, the German language.
This section of the APA Blog is designed to get to know our fellow philosophers a little better. We’re including profiles of APA members that spotlight what captures their interest not only inside the office, but also outside of it. We’d love for you to be a part of it, so please contact us via the interview nomination form here to nominate yourself or a friend.
Dr. Sabrina D. MisirHiralall is an editor at the Blog of the APA who currently teaches philosophy, religion, and education courses solely online for Montclair State University, Three Rivers Community College, and St. John’s University.
