José Víctor Orón Semper, a doctoral fellow in the Mind-Brain Group of the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) at the University of Navarra, defended his thesis entitled “Emotional integration in adolescent development: Contributions from neuropsychology and Leonardo Polo’s philosophy.”

José Ignacio Murillo and Javier Bernácer, both Mind-Brain researches, served as co-advisors and the thesis was defended in the School of Education and Psychology.

The newly minted doctor analyzed, "adolescents’ emotional education through an interdisciplinary dialogue between philosophy, neuroscience and psychology." Orón was inspired by the philosophy of Leonardo Polo, joining neuroscience and the psychological proposal of the inter-processual self.

The thesis analyzes the human act and adolescents’ psycho-maturity situation, which is when unique identity is created and emerges. In this way, "it adopts coherent educational proposals and sets forth a model of emotional education in the key of integration and in the service of adolescents’ personal growth," Orón emphasized.

Who do I want to be? A question for adolescents

José Víctor Orón is a Piarist priest and, as such, has worked in Piarist schools in his hometown of Valencia. His teaching experience led him to consider the importance of the question of personal identity during adolescence and the question, “Who do I want to be?” For this reason, his educational proposal seeks to help young people know their own personal situation and become familiar with emotions’ patterns to undertake global-personal acts that lead young people to face said question.

This thesis is currently being implemented through the UpToYou program. José Víctor Orón has offered emotional education courses to parents and educators in countries such as Spain, Mexico, Cameroon and Brazil.

The defense panel included Juan Narbona, professor emeritus of the School of Education and Psychology, who also presided over the defense, as well as Elkin Oswaldo Luis (secretary), professor of pedagogy at the University of Navarra, Alfredo Rodríguez Sedano, PhD in Humanities and Social Sciences from the University of Navarra, José Ángel Lombo, professor of general ethics at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Rome), and Jorge Medina, professor of ethics and the history of philosophy at the Popular Autonomous University of the State of Puebla (Mexico).