Xiaochen Zhao

I consider myself a scholarly writer. With a Ph.D. in philosophy and education (2023, Columbia University), I regard academia as a form of intellectual art. My tools are drawn not only from the structured beauty of alphabets and the sharp clarity of logic but also from the fluidity of perception that shapes our encounters with meaning. Together with the rich lifeworld of everydayness, these elements have become the organic texture of my doctoral dissertation and various articles.

My core curiosity revolves around understanding how the aesthetic facets of human existence can enrich us toward, to echo Socrates, an examined life of virtue and the audacity to confront our mortality. In particular, I am continually fascinated by the concept of thinging, its ties to the noesis-noema correlation, the flesh, and the sacred, and its recurring presence in literary expressions and ordinary discourse. This includes reflections on the spatiotemporal horizon of experience of being, and how such reflections reverberate in our worldly interactions in both the spiritual and material spheres, manifesting as various forms of enchantment within the ontogenesis of phenomena. In today’s era, defined by virtuality and technological mediation, I find it imperative to revisit these possibly overlooked referential chains.

Yet, my love of words is not limited to the academic. I indulge in creative writing, crafting short stories in Mandarin and English, some of which have been published. It’s my alternative, more intimate canvas, where ideas are painted not only with intellect but also with eros and phantasia.

Please find my CV here.