Meet your colleague: Anthony Vincent Fernandez

Can you tell us a bit about what your work involves?

I’m trained as a philosopher (insofar as we’re trained at all). But my research is interdisciplinary. I work on theoretical, conceptual, and methodological issues in the health and social sciences.

Right now, I’m working on a project on how people diagnosed with depression experience mood disturbances. By combining qualitative interviews with philosophical methods, such as conceptual analysis and development, we aim to develop a more refined taxonomy of mood disturbances, with the intention of disambiguating poorly formulated symptom constructs like “depressed mood”.

How long have you been working at SDU? Have you perhaps been here more than once?

I started at SDU in September 2021, so it’s been about three and a half years now. I visited Odense once before, in 2019. But previously I worked in the US, Canada, and the UK.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

Being a philosopher in a faculty of health is challenging. But it’s also provided a range of opportunities for discussion and collaboration that I wouldn’t have had if I followed a more traditional route, working only in philosophy departments.

It’s rewarding to see how my work, which is often theoretical, gets taken up by healthcare researchers and moves toward more practical, and even clinical, applications.

Can you tell us about a task or project you’re especially proud of?

A couple years ago I was able to establish the Interdisciplinary Phenomenology Cluster at the Danish Institute for Advanced Study, along with colleagues in the Faculty of Humanities and Faculty of Business and Social Sciences.

Today, the Cluster functions as a hub for researchers across three faculties, with over 40 members, from Ph.D. students to full professors. We’ve been able to facilitate interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration through a series of workshops, invited talks, and reading groups.

What’s your educational background – and how did it lead you to this role?

All of my degrees are in philosophy, with a specialization in a philosophical tradition called phenomenology. Traditionally, this field is concerned with the basic structures of consciousness or experience, such as how we experience the flow of time, how moods and emotions attune us to our environment, and how we can experience our own bodies.

From the start, I was interested in how these aspects of experience might alter, or deviate, especially in cases of psychopathology. Because of that interest, I started collaborating with psychiatrists and clinical psychologists, and eventually with nurses, sport scientists, anthropologists, sociologists, and many others. It was this interdisciplinary outlook that eventually led me to work here at SDU.

Have you ever thought about pursuing a different career path?

In my first year of university, I studied business and economics. But I decided that philosophy was more interesting than financial freedom. My parents weren’t so enthusiastic.

If I had to do something else today, I think I’d write comedy—not just because it would dramatically increase that chance of moving back in with my parents, but also because I really love the craft of writing, and good comedy is incredibly challenging to write.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

I spend most of my free time responding to emails. But, when I’m not doing that, I really love to cook.

I try to host a dinner party every couple weeks, and usually cook Cuban food for a taste of home.

I’ve also started cycling a lot through the countryside near Odense. When I have time to travel, I like to spend it hiking in the Swiss Alps or eating my way through Spain.

Seen, read or listened to anything good lately that you’d recommend?

I’ve started reading through the sci-fi series, The Expanse. Usually, I prefer to read the books before watching a show or movie. But, in this case, I watched the show first and really wanted more.

What’s your favourite spot for a day out?

There are some really great spots to bike for a picnic in the woods or the countryside not too far from Odense. But usually I’m too lazy and end up drinking at Christian Firtal.

Do you have a special talent that others might not know about?

I don’t think I’d call it a talent. But I have incredibly terrible taste in music—just brainworm-level catchiness that you can’t get out of your head and is of absolutely no substance. I love it.

Do you have any unusual or surprising hobbies you’d like to share?

I have an embarrassingly large collection of board games, which I usually convince my friends to play by promising them food. The longer and more complicated the better.

But I’ve got some short and simple ones too, so no one has to suffer too much.

Recently, I’ve been playing a lot of Terraforming Mars and Wingspan. I’d also really like to play through Gloomhaven again. But that one takes a while—I just need to find three people who have nothing to do every weekend for the next year or so.