César Valenzuela

César Valenzuela is a PhD candidate in philosophy; he specializes in political philosophy. His interests lie in democratic theory, environmental ethics, philosophy of race, and AI ethics.

In his dissertation, César examines how climate change pushes us to rethink the limits of democracy. The project explores which emergency powers should be granted to governments in order to guarantee both effectiveness and constraint in climate action; how much power should scientific experts have in climate decisions vis-à-vis elected representatives; and whether there is a democratic justification to engage in civil and uncivil disobedience in order to advance climate goals. César’s work also examines the political implications of different ontological accounts of race and racism, as well as the impact of machine learning on racial discrimination.

As the Graduate Workshop Coordinator for Facing the Anthropocene: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Environmental Crisis, César hopes to help expanding the environmental research community on campus and learn from different approaches to climate change and related issues.

Besides philosophy and politics, César also enjoys dancing, cinema (a special place in his heart for horror films), and wine.