Berta Sáenz

bsaenz@ub.edu
Investigadora postdoctoral

Berta Sáenz Almazán holds a cum laude PhD in Philosophy from the University of Barcelona, ​​where in 2023 she defended a dissertation on the relationship between vulnerability and responsibility in contemporary ethical-political thought, focusing on the dialogue between Emmanuel Levinas and Judith Butler, under the supervision of Josep Maria Esquirol. Her research, funded by a predoctoral FPU contract, was enriched by a stay at the University of Paris VIII (Laboratoire d’Études de Genre et Sexualité), where she engaged with French philosophers who were experts on these topics.

Between 2020 and 2024, she combined research with teaching in ethics, political philosophy, and social thought at universities such as UB, UOC, and URL (IQS, La Salle, and EUSS). She has also collaborated on applied research projects in public ethics, including the development of the Code of Ethics for the International Association of Educating Cities and the creation of indicators for good governance for Ivàlua.

Beyond her work in Western philosophy, she maintains a sustained interest in Buddhist thought, in which she has published and translated works, and in which she has been teaching courses and workshops since 2018. She is co-founder and pedagogical coordinator of Casa Virupa (2015) and the Laboratory of Contemplative Arts (2022), spaces dedicated to exploring the intersections of thought, spirituality, and creativity.

Selected publications:

  • Article. Quintana, O., & Sáenz Almazán, B. (2024). La secularización del pecado original y la autorreforma del humanismo [The Secularization of Original Sin and the Self-Reform of Humanism]. Pensamiento. Revista De Investigación E Información Filosófica , 80(309), 599–615. https://doi.org/10.14422/pen.v80.i309.y2024.002
  • Article. Sáenz Almazán B. (2024). ¿Por qué el mādhyamaka no es una forma de nihilismo? Comprender el abandono de la discusión de Nāgārjuna [Why mādhyamaka Is Not a Form of Nihilism? Understanding Nāgārjuna’s Abandonment of Debate] ’Ilu. Revista de Ciencias de las Religiones , 29, e94173. https://doi.org/10.5209/ilur.94173
  • Article. 2024. “Levinas, la fenomenología y más allá: fidelidades e infidelidades [Levinas, Phenomenology, and Beyond: Fidelities and Infidelities]” in Investigaciones Fenomenológicas. ISSN: 1885- 1088, ISSN: 1137-2400, no. 21. https://doi.org/10.5944/rif.21.2024.42029
  • Doctoral thesis. 2023. ¿Com cuidar en temps ateus? La interpel·lació de l’altre en Judith Butler i Emmanuel Levinas [How to Care in Atheist Times? The Other’s Interpellation in Judith Butler and Emmanuel Levinas]. Universitat de Barcelona.
  • Book chapter. 2025. “Pensar desde el cuerpo, pensar la interdependencia: Un camino de relevos entre tres autoras feministas” [Thinking from the Body, Thinking Interdependence: A Relay Path between Three Feminist Authors] in Ramírez, Mónica B. (ed.), Pensar los cuerpos. Miradas plurales . La Paz (México): UABCS [forthcoming].
  • Book chapter. 2022. “Perder el tiempo desde el budismo: ¿el remedio o la enfermedad? [Wasting Time from the Buddhist Perspective: Remedy or Illness?]” en Yuste, Piedad (ed.), La otra mirada. Filosofías de la India, China y Japón, Madrid: Dykinson, pp. 191 – 209, ISBN: 9788411226486