Romolo Borra

Doctorant de Julien Deonna

I am a PhD student working with Prof. Julien Deonna on the SNSF project "In Defense of Affective Benevolence". My current work focuses on investigating the nature, value, and norms regulating benevolence. In particular, I am interested in how relationships shape the moral psychology of agents who seek the other's good, and in the kinds of goods that are appropriate to promote in these relationships. Beyond my research project, I am mostly interested in questions pertaining to the philosophy of mind, moral psychology, ethics, and aesthetics.

Before starting my PhD, I worked as a research and teaching assistant in the Philosophy Department at the University of Geneva and taught philosophy in high school. I can happily count myself among the members of the Thumos research group, the Swiss Center for Affective Sciences (CISA), and the Geneva Centre for Philanthropy (GCP).  

Education

• MA in Philosophy with Specialisation in Contemporary Philosophy, University of Geneva (2023)
  Dissertation: Beauty Is in the Heart of the Beholder: The Affective Experience of Aesthetic Properties, supervisors Fabrice Teroni & Julien Deonna
• BA in Philosophy and General History, University of Geneva (2020)

Talks and Presentations

• Talk “Compassion and the Badness of Suffering”, XXVI Emotions and Flourishing International Conference, Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (25.02.2026).
• Poster “In the Mind of the Benevolent Person”, CISA Annual Research Forum, University of Geneva (03.02.2026).