Miguel Martinez-Saenz
Assistant Professor of Philosophy. I teach courses in critical thinking, logic, philosophy of
law, Latin American philosophy and the ethics of economic development.
In the classroom I am deeply committed to making philosophy relevant to
the lives of students. My “Ethics of Economic Development” course
looks at the distinction between economic development and human development
requiring students to engage issues related to poverty from a variety of
perspectives, including economics, sociology, political science and philosophy.
Moreover, the underlying emphasis on cross-disciplinary dialogue has not
been confined to economic development. I have team taught a course, “Culture
Industry,” with Dr. Tammy Proctor, an Associate Professor of History, and
have also developed a course “Revolutions in Latin America” with Dr. Molly
Wood, Assistant Professor of History. These teaching opportunities
have enabled me to see the importance of teaching with special emphasis
on making philosophical ideas relevant to the lives of students. Outside
the classroom setting, I have worked with my wife, an 8th grade public school
Social Studies teacher, tutoring “at-risk” teens. Moreover, during
Spring Break I accompany student groups to build houses in rural communities
in Nicaragua as part of a trip organized by Bridges to Community.While my research interests lay primarily in areas connected with philosophy as it relates most specifically to issues of economic
development (specifically Latin America), I have worked on
and presented papers on a wide range of topics from Roberto Mangabeira
Unger's social theory to a critical analysis of the UNDP's Human Development
Report. My paper titled “Economic (Human) Development: Participating
in an Interdisciplinary Endeavor,” asks philosophers to recognize that just
as economists “cannot slay the dragon of backwardness” by themselves, philosophers
too must recognize that they have to enter into dialogue with economists,
sociologists, political theorists and others. Philosophers too, have
to understand that economic research, theory and empirical data can force
moral theorists to reflect more fully upon their views. My paper titled
“Che Geuvara’s New Man: Embodying 
a Communitarian attitude” provides readers with a philosophical
approach for understanding one of the most influential revolutionaries of
the 20th century. My two papers on Borges, co-authored with Jorge R.
Sagastume Assistant Professor of Spanish at Dickinson College (“Desmantelamiento
y reconstrucción: Borges, “Pierre Menard, autor del Quijote” y la
traducción” and “Trabajando solos o en compañía: Borges
y la necesidad de la colaboración entre las disciplinas”) have
taught me to work closely with a colleague outside my discipline enabling
each one of us to grow as scholars and persons. I believe our work together
embodies interdisciplinary research forcing each one of us to recognize the
strengths and limitations of our specialized training.
I received my B.A. in religion from Florida State University and my M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of South Florida. I came to Wittenberg in 2001.