Philosophy

This course discusses the main intellectual movements in the search for a modern Japanese identity. Since the Meiji period, Japanese intellectuals have devoted themselves both to introducing Western thought and to creating a Japanese identity in response. This course emphasizes the complicated interplay between Japanese traditions and modern Western thought. Following a discussion of the complex issues of tradition and reception, the course discusses Buddhism, Confucianism and Nativism (Kokugaku) and their impact on modern Japanese thought; then, the course explores liberalism and socialism in modern Japan. 

This course explores the main political and moral theories that have been developed to face the new reality of unprecedented ecological upheaval caused by human activity. It imagines political solutions (environmental ethics, critique of technology, radical ecology, ecological democracy) to address several questions at the heart of contemporary political debates: whether humans should have a moral obligation towards nature and living beings; recognize a crime of ecocide; fight against the ideology of technical progress and invent new forms of life that are more resilient and respectful of the environment; reaffirm the importance of the precautionary principle in public action; and imagine a new social and ecological contract that would include non-human life forms and future generations.

This course encourages students to consider if, when, and how ethical considerations can or must play a role in the practice of the medical profession. Students are schooled in philosophical techniques that form the basis of sound ethical reasoning, become aware that the health sciences do not operate in a moral or philosophical vacuum, and that a good knowledge of both the older and recent ethical and philosophical debates is of the greatest significance. There are philosophical lectures, ethical discussions, and the study of practical cases that reflect the most important problems and topics that make up the moral and philosophical challenges of the medical discipline of today. Topics addressed include euthanasia, embryo research, HIV and Aids, imperiled newborns, gene therapy and cloning, involuntary psychiatric treatment, and allocation of limited medical resources.

This course examines the philosophy of sex and gender in three steps. It first looks at how the human subject in the history of philosophy is sexed and privileged as a man. It then examines the metaphysics of gender, questioning both essentialist and constructionist versions of gender ontology. Lastly, it pursues the question of intersectionality and its relationship with sex and gender

A research project that assigns students to expert professors in their proposed research topic. The course takes which takes the students' research capabilities to a more professional level. This can be most closely compared to what is called a supervised research project in the USA.

Is Chinese philosophy incommensurable with Western philosophy, or is there a philosophy in general? There are stereotypes (opinions) about Chinese philosophy, and this course examines the truth of Chinese philosophy in particular and the truth of philosophy in general. This course introduces classical (pre-Qin) Confucianism and Legalism; investigates the problems the pre-Qin Confucian and Legalist philosophers try to answer, what their answers are, whether the answers are coherent within one text and how these answers are related to each other; and examines how these philosophical texts address philosophical problems, that is, problems that transcend a particular people, a particular time, and a particular locale. By comparing these philosophers' answers to those by other philosophers (Chinese or non-Chinese), students see the merits and problems of these answers that are still relevant today.