Santiago Amaya

Santiago Amaya is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Rice University. Previously, he served as Chair of the Philosophy Department and Associate Professor at Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, where he co-founded the Moral Judgment and Emotion Lab. He holds a PhD in Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis and was a Volkswagen Postdoctoral Fellow at the Berlin School of Mind and Brain.

His research investigates how cultural and social factors shape human decision-making, moral judgment, and emotional responses. Key topics include free will, intentional action, and slips, with notable publications in *Noûs*, *Philosophical Studies*, and *Synthese*. He leads an international project studying moral experiences across 20+ countries, the largest of its kind. His applied work explores forgiveness in post-conflict societies, particularly in Colombia.

Awardees of grants from the Volkswagen Foundation, John Templeton Foundation, and others, he serves on the advisory board of the Global Observatory for Academic Freedom and editorial boards of *Philosophia* and *Ergo*. His interdisciplinary projects integrate empirical methods with philosophical inquiry, including studies on autobiographical memory in conflict-affected populations.

Education:

• PhD in Philosophy, Neuroscience, Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis
• PhD Certificate in Institutions and Social Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis
• MA in Philosophy (Meritorious Dissertation), Universidad Nacional de Colombia
• BA Magna cum Laude in Philosophy, Universidad de los Andes

His lab collaborates with over 50 institutions globally, advancing open-access research on moral cognition. Current work focuses on memory-forgiveness linkages in trauma recovery.