A philosopher, writer and essayist who graduated in Classical Philology (1988) and in Law (1992) from the Complutense University of Madrid. He received his PhD cum laude in Philosophy from the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), with a thesis on imitation (or exemplarity) as an ethical guide. Since 2003, he has been the director of the Juan March Foundation and he is also a patron of the Teatro Real and Teatro de La Abadía, in Madrid. In 2012 and 2014, the magazine Foreign Policy included him in a list of the world’s 50 most influential Latin Americans. 

He received Spain’s National Essay Award in 2004 for his first book, Imitación y experiencia (2003), which, together with Aquiles en el gineceo (2007) and Ejemplaridad pública (2009), is part of a trilogy dedicated to the experience of life. He has brought together his philosophical works in two collections, Tetralogía de la ejemplaridad (2014) and Filosofía mundana (2016), and published his essays and lectures, in Ingenuidad aprendida (2011) and  Todo a mil (2012).

He is a regular contributor to newspapers, magazines and cultural supplements, such as Babelia (El País), El Cultural (El Mundo) and Metrópolis.