Francisco José Ramos is a Puerto Rican philosopher, poet, and retired university professor. He is the author of the philosophical trilogy ''Aesthetics of Thought''. He is also a numerary member of the Puerto Rican Spanish Academy.

Biography

Ramos was born on December 31, 1950, in

Caguas, Puerto Rico Caguas (, ) is a Caguas barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in central eastern Puerto Rico. Located in the eponymous Caguas Valley between the Sierra de Cayey and Sierra de Luquillo of the Cordillera Central (Puer ...

. He completed a master's degree (1976) and Ph.D (1982) in Philosophy at the

Complutense University of Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid (, UCM; ) is a public research university located in Madrid. Founded in Alcalá in 1293 (before relocating to Madrid in 1836), it is one of the oldest operating universities in the world, and one of Spain's ...

. His studies focused on the philosophy of

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...

, with a master's thesis titled ''Thought and Metaphor in Nietzsche’s Zarathustra'' and a doctoral dissertation titled ''The Thought of Transgression in the Nietzschean Philosophical Project.'' He attended

University of Paris VIII Paris 8 University (), or usually the University of Vincennes in Saint-Denis or Paris 8, is a public university in the Paris Metropolitan Area, Greater Paris, France. Once part of the historic University of Paris, it is now an autonomous public ...

(1977-1979) for his postdoctoral studies. Immediately after, he began a career as a professor at the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

. Ramos is also a founding member of the Puerto Rican Society of Philosophy (SPF, in Spanish), which he led from 1989 to 1991. He has been a guest lecturer and researcher at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

and the

City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...

, as well as universities in Europe, Asia and the Americas. He is a collaborator of the Hispanic Institute for Buddhist Studies and the European interdisciplinary group "Escritura e Imagen".

Thought

Ramos's philosophical thought, as illustrated in his three-volume ''Aesthetics of Thought'''','' questions thought as a philosophical category in its relation to language (or writing), and consequently, to the Real. His work combines approaches from

Ancient philosophy This page lists some links to ancient philosophy, namely philosophical thought extending as far as early post-classical history (). Overview Genuine philosophical thought, depending upon original individual insights, arose in many cultures ro ...

—specifically

Heraclitus Heraclitus (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic philosopher from the city of Ephesus, which was then part of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Empire. He exerts a wide influence on Western philosophy, ...

and

Parmenides Parmenides of Elea (; ; fl. late sixth or early fifth century BC) was a Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic ancient Greece, Greek philosopher from Velia, Elea in Magna Graecia (Southern Italy). Parmenides was born in the Greek colony of Veli ...

—with other modern and contemporary traditions, such as

Psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...

Ontology Ontology is the philosophical study of existence, being. It is traditionally understood as the subdiscipline of metaphysics focused on the most general features of reality. As one of the most fundamental concepts, being encompasses all of realit ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

Works

''The Drama of Philosophical Writing (1998):''

In the first volume of ''Aesthetics of Thought'', Francisco José Ramos establishes a philosophical proposal that concerns aesthetics, not in its conventional philosophical sense, that is, judgments on beauty, but as a type of sensibility. Thought is not addressed as a mental activity, but rather as the plurality of images and configurations that constitute said activity. Fundamental to the proposal of ''Aesthetics of Thought'' is the acknowledgment of

impermanence Impermanence, also known as the philosophical problem of change, is a philosophical concept addressed in a variety of religions and philosophies. In Eastern philosophy it is notable for its role in the Buddhism, Buddhist three marks of existe ...

as that which escapes any configuration or conceptual framework— the original “articulation” is encoded into the written word or the “movement of thought”, presumed to be violently captured by the concept.

''The Dance in the Labyrinth (2003):''

The second volume, ''Dance in the Labyrinth: Meditation upon Human Action'' (2003), attends to the particular relationship between philosophical language and art. This volume also poses several questions regarding the connections between philosophical thought and

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

, specifically, the relationship between thought and the advertising industry. Accordingly, Ramos introduces conceptual distinctions between aesthetics, the work of art, and artistic experience, the last of which is related to the practice of wisdom.

''The Invention of the Self (2008):''

The third volume of the trilogy, ''The Invention of the Self'' (2008), is conceived as a dialogue between the

neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...

, and

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

thought. Therein Ramos outlines connections between mind, body, organism and brain. Ramos distances himself from existing attempts to reduce mental activity to mere neuronal processes— to the

dualist Dualism most commonly refers to: * Mind–body dualism, a philosophical view which holds that mental phenomena are, at least in certain respects, not physical phenomena, or that the mind and the body are distinct and separable from one another * P ...

separations of mind and body. In doing so, he incorporates the non-dualistic legacy of

Lucretius Titus Lucretius Carus ( ; ; – October 15, 55 BC) was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is the philosophical poem '' De rerum natura'', a didactic work about the tenets and philosophy of Epicureanism, which usually is t ...

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (24 November 163221 February 1677), also known under his Latinized pen name Benedictus de Spinoza, was a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, who was born in the Dutch Republic. A forerunner of the Age of Enlightenmen ...

, Hume,

Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche became the youngest pro ...

Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault ( , ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French historian of ideas and philosopher who was also an author, literary critic, political activist, and teacher. Foucault's theories primarily addressed the relationships be ...

, and

Deleuze Gilles Louis René Deleuze (18 January 1925 – 4 November 1995) was a French philosopher who, from the early 1950s until his death in 1995, wrote on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. His most popular works were the two volumes o ...

. Ramos thus puts forth a proposal that accounts for the mind-body problem and the urgent need to reach a ''different way of thinking'' about the human condition.

Bibliography

Books

* ''Cronografías''. Editorial Atlántida. (1982) * ''Hacer: Pensar. Colección de escritos filosóficos''. Editorial de la UPR. (1984). (Editor). * ''Estética del Pensamiento I: el drama de la escritura filosófica''. Editorial Fundamentos. (1998). * ''Foucault, la historia de la locura como historia de la razón: recopilación de escritos conmemorativos de Historia de la locura''. Editorial Tal Cual / Editorial Post Data. (2002). (Editor with Irma Rivera Nieves) * ''Estética del pensamiento II: la danza en el laberinto''. Editorial Fundamentos. (2003) * ''Estética del pensamiento III: la invención de sí mismo''. Editorial Fundamentos. (2008) * ''La significación del lenguaje poético''. Ediciones Antígona. (2012) * ''Ética'', de Baruch Spinoza. Trad. Manuel Machado. Ediciones Espuela de Plata. (2013). (Editor). * ''La ciudad, la amistad, la palabra: encuentros filosóficos con Francisco José Ramos, Enrique Pajón y Diego Tatián''. Ediciones Antígona. (2016). * ''Erothema''. La Palma Ediciones. (2017). * ''The Holy Trinity of Power, Success, and Money. Poets, Philosophers, Lovers: On the Writings of

Giannina Braschi Giannina Braschi (born February 5, 1953) is a Puerto Rican poet, novelist, dramatist, and scholar. Her notable works include '' Empire of Dreams'' (1988), '' Yo-Yo Boing!'' (1998), '' United States of Banana'' (2011), and '' Putinoika'' (2024). ...

''. University of Pittsburgh Press. (2020).

Contributions to edited volumes

* “La otra Europa: la escritura americana con sus historias a la deriva”, in ''Discurso o Imagen: las paradojas de lo sonoro'', Ana María Leyra. Editorial Fundamentos. (2003). * "El envolvimiento: Spinoza y la práctica de la sabiduría", in ''Spinoza contemporáneo'', Montserrat Galcerán Huguet & Mario Esponiza Pino. Tierradenadie. (2009).

Articles and essays

* "Postfacio", in '' El imperio de los sueños,'' by Giannina Braschi. (1988). * "El espacio público de la filosofía". Diálogos. Vol. 30, No. 66, 1995, pp. 117-136. * “Tiempo y mito”, in ''Diccionario Internacional de Hermenéutica''. Bilbao. Universidad de Deusto. (1997) * "La crisis de la crítica". Revista de Ciencias Sociales. Vol. 5, 1998, pp. 96-112. * "Un aparte con el pensamiento de José Echevarría". Revista Jurídica de la Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico. Vol. 33, No. 3, 1999, pp. 381-385. * "El rodeo de lo inescrutable". La Torre: Revista de la Universidad de Puerto Rico. Vol. 5, No. 18, 2000, p. 619. * "La significación del lenguaje poético". La Torre: Revista de la Universidad de Puerto Rico. Vol. 8, No. 23, 2002, pp. 63-74. * "

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

y el budismo: ¿hay tal cosa?". La Torre: Revista de la Universidad de Puerto Rico. Vol. 8, No. 29-30, 2003, pp. 57-73. * "La oportunidad del momento:

Dōgen was a Japanese people, Japanese Zen Buddhism, Buddhist Bhikkhu, monk, writer, poet, philosopher, and founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan. He is also known as Dōgen Kigen (), Eihei Dōgen (), Kōso Jōyō Daishi (), and Busshō Dent� ...

y la kairosofia

Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

". Diálogos. Vol. 40, No. 85, 2005, pp. 127-152. * "La cultura universitaria". Escritura e Imagen. Vol. 3, 2007, pp. 185-191. * "Paráfrasis de una mitología conceptual". Diálogos. Vol. 42, No. 90, 2007, pp. 295-306. * "La sapienza o el amor a la sabiduría". Diálogos. Vol. 42, No. 90, 2007, pp. 9-11. * "El pensamiento de la gratitud: Schajowicz y Celan". La Torre: Revista de la Universidad de Puerto Rico. Vol. 14, No. 51-52, 2009, pp. 107-120. * "El espejo del mundo: Discurso de toma de posesión del nombramiento como Académico de Número en la Academia de la Lengua de Puerto Rico". Escritura e Imagen. Vol. 5, 2009, pp. 261-307. * "

Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of real ...

Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He is known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and ...

: la irrealización de una obra". Escritura e Imagen. Vol. 11, 2015, pp. 199-207. * "Michel Foucalt: memorias y elucidaciones". Diálogos. Vol. 45, No. 94, 2013, pp. 98-109. * "Cómo pensar la poesía? (poema, imagen y escritura)". Escritura e Imagen. Vol. 9, 2013, pp. 339-357. * "La plenitud del vacío: El pensamiento de Dōgen Zenji". Diálogos. Vol. 47, No. 97, 2015, pp. 81-105. * "La ciencia intuitiva y el concepto de beatitud". Diálogos. Vol. 48, No. 100, 2016, pp. 13-41. * "La experiencia artística, la vida del pensamiento y los pliegues de lo real". Diálogos. Vol. 48, No. 101, 2017, pp. 11-32. * " Kairós: A la memoria de Manfred Kerkhoff". Diálogos. Vol. 49, No. 102, 2018, pp. 71-80. * "La recuperación de la filosofía: Ortega y la idea de principio en

Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (or Leibnitz; – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat who is credited, alongside Sir Isaac Newton, with the creation of calculus in addition to many ...

". Diálogos. Vol. 53, No. 111, 2022, pp. 65-97.

Selected talks and lectures

* ''Las humanidades: presente y futuro'' (University of Puerto Rico, 2016). * ''La envoltura del tiempo: pensador y poeta Dōgen Zenji'' (University of Puerto Rico, 2014). * ''La filosofía y el tiempo'' (University of Puerto Rico, 2014). * ''La Práctica Zen, el lenguaje y la poesía'' (Instituto de Estudios Budistas Hispano, 2020). * ''La práctica Zen y la oportunidad del momento'' (Instituto de Estudios Budistas Hispano, 2020).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramos, Francisco Jose 1950 births Living people 20th-century Puerto Rican poets 20th-century American poets 21st-century Puerto Rican poets 21st-century American poets Complutense University of Madrid alumni People from Caguas, Puerto Rico University of Puerto Rico faculty Nietzsche scholars