As a nominee of the ESJP you obviously study or studied Philosophy, but could you tell us something more about yourself and how your interest in Philosophy came to be?
During my high school years, I did not like philosophy at all. The subject matter seemed quite far from reality and it did not appear to improve my life in any way. However, everything changed in the last year of my bachelor in psychology. I took this one course in philosophy and suddenly I had this strange realization of how we take most things for granted, like we are all walking in the dark with this small lamp in our hands. I soon realised that philosophy could increase the reach of this lamp. That is to say, I was still in the dark but I could see more than I ever could.
Could you shortly introduce the topic of your paper and tell us why you wanted to write about this topic?
In my paper I wrote about how the experience of time becomes disrupted in schizophrenia. The subject of time amazes me. It is the most mysterious topic I have ever come across. As Augustine once said when asked what is time, "If no one asks me, I know, If I wish to explain it to the one that asks, I know not". If I ask you to draw time on a piece of paper, what would you draw? A clock? A calendar? None of these would really be time. Trying to grasp the real character of time is like trying to hold water in your hand, sooner or later it will escape. When my professor, Mrs. Wehrle, showed me how people experience time differently in schizophrenia, I instantly saw an opportunity to understand more about the mysterious phenomena of time.
The ESJP works with a double-blind peer-reviewed process that most academic journals also use, followed by an intensive editorial process in which you get feedback on your work. What did you take out of this experience?
The editorial process is well thought and editors were incredibly competent in giving me feedback. But I must confess, I had some resistance in the beginning. I did not want to remove some parts of my paper. As friend of mine once told me, "Our papers are like our children, we get very sensitive when people talk about it". But through the editorial process, I began to understand more what the editors wanted to show me. Towards the end of the editing process, I had improved the coherence of my paper as well as the strength of my arguments. I also became more aware of my own style of writing. I am grateful for all I have learned in this experience.
Since your paper was first nominated by a teacher for our journal and then passed the double-blind peer-reviewed process, you have shown to be able to write a noteworthy and qualitative philosophical paper. What is your secret?
My secret for writing a noteworthy paper is the network I found myself at that time. A network of excellent professors and of friends and family, who gave me all the support along the process. But to write a good philosophical paper, internal motivation is needed above all. I could have the best support in the world, but If I am not motivated to write about something, I will probably have little success. When writing the paper, I was given the freedom to write about what I wanted, as long as it concerned philosophy. This freedom is crucial for not just being internally motivated to write about something but also for producing a creative and inspiring work in any field, be it philosophy or economics.
You are still a student (or you just graduated) and already have a first publication, what’s next? What are your plans for the future?
At all events, the climate emergency must be addressed urgently. We humans are as engrained in our environment as the trees in the forest and the clouds in the sky. Their destruction is also our destruction. We need to improve the way in which we all relate with our environment in a healthier manner, for us and for the environment. In the future, I hope to be part of this endeavour, not only through advocacy, but also by establishing organizations to educate others in this crucial mission. I couldn’t tell you the exact details of how to accomplish this, but I strongly believe that’s part of the reason why I’ve profoundly explored the topics of psychology, philosophy and time. So now I’m faced with a very personal challenge: how do I translate the knowledge I’ve cultivated in this respect into actionable contributions to a more harmonious human relationship with Nature?