Dr Daniel Vazquez, Associate Professor & Head of Department of Philosophy
Dr Daniel Vázquez is the Head of the Department of Philosophy at MIC.
Dr Vázquez talks to us about his main area of research in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy. He is currently leading two fascinating projects: the first is about the ethics of arguing for both sides of the same question, and the second examines ancient Greek and Roman ideas about the nature and origin of the universe and their conception of time.
He also tells us what he enjoys most about undertaking research projects and gives sound advice for those considering undertaking research-themed postgraduate study.
What did you study at undergraduate and at postgraduate level?
I started my studies in Mexico City, where I took two years of a BA in Communications (ITESM) before transferring to the BA in Philosophy (Universidad Panamericana), where I graduated in 2006. I then studied for an MPhil in Philosophy (UNAM), graduating in 2010 with an award-winning dissertation on ancient scepticism. The same year, I moved to the UK to study for my PhD in Philosophy at King’s College London, where I graduated with a dissertation on Plato and the Stoics in 2015. I also hold a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP) in Higher Education from King’s College London (Merit 2014) and am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK (2017). In addition, I have spent research visiting periods in the Trinity Plato Centre in Dublin (2019-2020), Sapienza University of Rome and ILIESI, CRN (2019), Princeton University (2018), the Department of Philosophy of the University of Oxford (2015-2016), Cornell University (2013), and Yale University (2012).
In 2021 I became the Head of the Department of Philosophy at Mary Immaculate College. Before that, I worked for three years as an ERC Research Fellow based at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (2018-2021), two years as a FAPESP Research Fellow at the University of Sao Paulo (2016-2018), and two years as a College Tutor in Ethics in Oriel College, University of Oxford (2014-2016) and a Lecturer in Ancient Philosophy in the Philosophy Department of the University of Oxford (2014-2015).
Tell us a bit about your current main body of research
My main area of research is ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, from the early Greeks to Late antiquity. I am currently leading two projects. One is about the ethics of arguing for both sides of the same question, a controversial practice developed by Greek intellectuals and philosophers in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE (including Protagoras, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle) and continued during the Hellenistic period by ancient sceptics and dialecticians, but a practice that is still highly relevant today. Allowing space to argue for both sides of a difficult question or case often benefits our understanding, belief formation, risk assessment, and decision-making. However, one might wonder whether discussing both sides of an issue is always morally appropriate. Should we always allow equal time to advocate for both sides? Examples like pseudoscientific theories, political filibusters, and vested interests that manufacture doubt suggest not. But where and under what minimal moral principles should we draw the line? I believe Ancient Greek philosophers can help us develop an ethical framework to answer these questions. This project stems from my previous work on suspension of belief in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, especially the last chapter of my recent book, Suspension of Belief (Cambridge University Press 2024). It also builds upon much of my work on argumentation and scepticism, recently compiled and translated into Spanish in my book Escepticismo, Metafísica y Argumentación [Scepticism, Metaphysics, and Argumentation] (NUN 2024).
The second project examines ancient Greek and Roman ideas about the nature and origin of the universe and their conception of time. This project is a collaboration with Prof Alberto Ross (Universidad Panamericana, Mexico), where we are particularly interested in Plato and Aristotle, the two most influential philosophers of the classical period of Greek philosophy. This work continues the successful collaboration that resulted in the publication of two co-edited books: Cause and Explanation in Ancient Philosophy (Routledge 2024) and Time and Cosmology in Plato and the Platonic Tradition (Brill 2022).
What do you enjoy most about undertaking your research projects?
I like to study ancient Greek and Roman philosophy because it offers an immense treasure. On the one hand, it provides an escape from everyday life and the worries of today’s world. The philosophical problems in these texts are so interesting, abstract, and sometimes so challenging that they make everything around me disappear. Ancient philosophy thus serves as a refuge, a secret hiding place where I retreat to think about fundamental distinctions, arguments and concepts. It is also an escape when I divert my attention from the logic of the arguments to the words in the original language and the grammatical constructions to the historical context and the enormous distance between ancient philosophers and their current readers. I enjoy reading each word and sentence as if I were walking through ancient civilisations’ ruins: learning new things at every step, marveling at what I understand and how much I cannot, and how all these aspects affect my interpretation of philosophical arguments.
However, ancient philosophy also offers a way back to our current life and circumstances. Many of the themes it addresses, the questions it asks, and the theories it proposes are as central today as they were then. For example what counts as knowledge? How should we live our lives? What makes an argument a good argument? What is the fairer political system? On other occasions, even if the specific answers are wrong or we do not agree with them, the methods, the structure of the arguments, and the clarity to analyse the concepts provide masterclasses, models and examples that allow us to return to our lives transformed, with a fresh and sometimes sharper vision of the things around us
What do you like about supervising a PhD students?
The best part of supervising postgraduate students is witnessing their intellectual flourishing. I enjoy guiding and helping them think deeper and more carefully about their research questions, learning from them and discussing their innovative arguments and contributions to the scholarly debate.
Do you have any advice for someone who is thinking about taking up a researched PG programme?
Look for a good match between your research project and the research expertise of your prospective supervisor. Prioritise the importance of studying in a welcoming and academically thriving place with a friendly community of graduate students and a supervisor willing to become your mentor and advocate in the academic world.
MIC’s Meet the Researcher series focuses on the breadth of research output from MIC academics and student researchers.
