Life and career
Biography
Philosopher, lawyer and teacher of generations, he has devoted his life to university teaching and to thinking about Venezuelan culture in the light of the classical tradition.
Rafael Tomás Caldera Pietri was born in Caracas on 19 December 1945. He is the son of Rafael Caldera, twice President of Venezuela, and Alicia Pietri.
Education
He graduated in law from the Universidad Central de Venezuela in 1967. He went on to earn a Master of Arts at the University of Notre Dame (United States) in 1970 and a doctorate at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) in 1974, with a thesis on judgment by inclination in Saint Thomas Aquinas, published in Paris by Vrin.
Teaching
He is a full professor in the Department of Philosophy at Universidad Simón Bolívar in Caracas, where he teaches Medieval Philosophy and Philosophical Anthropology. He also teaches at Universidad Monteávila.
At Universidad Simón Bolívar he served as head of the Department of Philosophy (1988–1989 and 1992–1994), director of the Division of Social Sciences and Humanities (1989–1991) and member of the Appeals Council (1986–1989). From 1982 to 1983 he directed the Humanities Centre of the Instituto Internacional de Estudios Avanzados (IDEA).
Academies
- Member of the Pontifical Academy of Saint Thomas Aquinas since 16 December 1999.
- Full member of the Venezuelan Academy of Language (Academia Venezolana de la Lengua), seat Q. He was inducted on 24 January 2011 with the address El orador en la República (“The Orator in the Republic”).
- Member of the Venezuelan Philosophical Society.
His work
His thought is rooted in the tradition of Saint Thomas Aquinas and in the realism of authors such as Jacques Maritain and Étienne Gilson. From that ground he has written on knowledge (The First Intellectual Apprehension, To Understand Is to Say), on love and the person (On the Nature of Love, Open Existence), on education (Educating in Venezuela) and on Venezuelan and Latin American culture (New World and Colonial Mentality, In Search of Our Own Expression). His books on reading and writing have become a guide for university students.
His books have been published in Caracas, Madrid, Pamplona, Paris and Budapest, and in English by Scepter Publishers.
Timeline
| Year | |
|---|---|
| 1945 | Born in Caracas, 19 December |
| 1967 | Law degree, Universidad Central de Venezuela |
| 1970 | Master of Arts, University of Notre Dame |
| 1974 | Doctorate, University of Fribourg |
| 1980 | Publishes Le jugement par inclination chez Saint Thomas d’Aquin (Paris, Vrin) |
| 1982–1983 | Director of the Humanities Centre at IDEA |
| 1988–1994 | Head of the Department of Philosophy and Division director at Universidad Simón Bolívar |
| 1999 | Joins the Pontifical Academy of Saint Thomas Aquinas |
| 2011 | Inducted into the Venezuelan Academy of Language |
| 2021 | Publishes Nostalgia y trascendencia (Luis Felipe Capriles Editor) |
| 2025 | Delivers the inaugural lecture “Philosophy in the New Technological Age” at Universidad Católica Andrés Bello |