Pedro Brea

Pedro has a PhD in Philosophy from the University of North Texas (2024) and a BS in Physics from the University of Texas at Dallas (2019). 

As a scholar, he is interested in the intersection of process philosophy, axiology, and philosophy of mind. His research explores the relationship between nature, mind, morality, and beauty. Recently, he has been exploring ways of synthesizing insights from moral Platonism and Zen Buddhism with process metaphysics and theories of embodied consciousness. To this end, he has been especially inspired by the works of Iris Murdoch, Keiji Nishitani, Plato, Simone Weil, Henri Bergson, Alfred Whitehead, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Friedrich Nietzsche. He has published his work in journals such as Research in Phenomenology and Thaumàzein – Rivista di Filosofia. He also has a forthcoming publication in the journal of Process Studies, which explores a process ontology of energy (inspired by Gilles Deleuze’s metaphysics) based on the final chapter of his doctoral dissertation, which investigates how the concept of energy in western philosophy and physics has been historically theorized in relation to time. You can find his published works and dissertation here.

Pedro particularly enjoys teaching ethics at Herbst. His seminars combine works of philosophy and literature to explore fundamental questions of what it means to be human and live a good life in the age of modern science and technology. He focuses especially on the ethical and existential ramifications of modern science and technology for the individual and society, asking questions such as how our collective understanding of values, like goodness and justice, are shaped by the technologies we use and our scientific interpretations of nature and the mind.