Javier Gomá Lanzón was born in Bilbao in 1965. He has a PhD and degrees in Classical Philology and Law. He came top in the Spanish Council of State’s official legal examinations. Since 2003 he has been the Director of the Juan March Foundation. He won the 2004 National Essay Prize for his first book, Imitación y experiencia (2003), which, together with Aquiles en el gineceo (2007) and Ejemplaridad pública (Taurus, 2009), make up a trilogy dedicated to life experiences. His most recent book is Dignidad (2020). Selections of his essays and lectures appear in Ingenuidad aprendida (2011) and in Todo a mil (2012), and he has edited the anthological volume Ganarse la vida en el arte, la literatura y la música (2012). Every three weeks in the Todo a mil column of Babelia, the El País cultural supplement, he publishes a short philosophical essay. He writes regularly in newspapers, magazines and supplements and contributes to Spanish National Radio. He is a patron of the Spanish Royal Theatre. In 2012 the Spanish-language edition of Foreign Policy magazine included him on its list of the 50 most influential Ibero-American intellectuals.