Jorge J. E. Gracia

Gracia's work in this area has examined the concept of Hispanic philosophy and presented a historico-relational understanding of it. In addition, Gracia has described the origin of Hispanic philosophy in the 16th century. He presented a historical account of discussions concerning the controversy about the nature of Latin-American philosophy and developed a historiographical model for the understanding of Hispanic thought.

Gracia has written extensively on the problem of individuation in the early Middle Ages. Within this context, he has explored Boethius and his metaphysical and logical approaches to the problem of individuation. He has also dealt with the metaphysical views of Thierry of Chartres, Gilbert of Potiers, Peter Abailard and others. He wrote the first book on the development of the problem of individuation in the early Middle Ages, the period that goes from the 6th century to the 14th. In this book, he applied a new, analytic problems approach method to the history of medieval philosophy.

Gracia has published many articles on the work of Latin American philosophers and explored their work in terms of the impact it has had upon Latin America. The research has also extended to the exploration of Latin American art and literature. He was a pioneer in this field. The anthology on Latin American philosophy he edited in the mid-1980s was the first work of its nature published in English by a philosopher.

Gracia studied architecture at Universidad de La Habana and also took classes at Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes San Alejandro, both in Havana, Cuba, for a year before coming to United States and earning a B.A. in philosophy at Wheaton College (Ill.) in 1965. In his book Painting Borges, he narrates how he changed his field of study from architecture to mathematics to English literature to philosophy because he became "enthralled by language" and "craved ... to know [its] secret." He received his M.A. in philosophy from University of Chicago in 1966, M.S.L. (Licentiate in Mediaeval Studies) in philosophy from Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies in 1970, and Ph.D. in Medieval philosophy from University of Toronto in 1971. During his graduate studies he spent a year (1969-1970) at Institut d'Estudis Catalans for study and research.

Jorge J. E. Gracia (July 18, 1942 – July 13, 2021) was a Cuban-born American philosopher who was the Samuel P. Capen Chair, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Department of Comparative Literature in the State University of New York at Buffalo. Gracia was educated in Cuba, the United States, Canada, and Spain, and received his Ph.D. in Medieval Philosophy from the University of Toronto.