Philosophy

Overview

The Philosophy Program within the Department of Philosophy and Ethics has consistently led the research of Western philosophy in Japan since its establishment. Philosophy, while one of the oldest academic subjects, is still as relevant today as it was thousands of years ago, combining its long tradition with state-of-the-art technologies. Our faculty consists of two researchers of classical philosophy and five researchers of modern and contemporary philosophy. The master's program has approximately 10 graduate students, with about 5 graduate students in the doctoral program, many of them having come from other departments and universities.

Students are expected to actively participate in graduate seminars, and the graduate programs culminate in a master's thesis and doctoral dissertation respectively. In addition to regular, on-campus meetings of the Keio University Mita Philosophy Society, students also present at joint research meetings of philosophy and ethics (MIPS). There are also opportunities to present on research at conferences both in Japan and abroad and to publish papers in a range of scholarly journals and magazines that include Philosophy (Mita Philosophy Society, Keio University). Many students also have opportunities to get involved in various research projects across the university.

Faculty

Name/Position

Department/Specialty/Research Interest/Publication

  • ARAHATA, Yasuhiro
    Professor

    Philosophy
    Modern German Philosophy, Philosophical Logic

    The main aims of my research are twofold: 1) to compare and connect G. Frege's philosophy of logic, Wittgenstein's early philosophy and Heidegger's hermeneutical phenomenology to each other over the problems of the so-called "metaphysical internalism" and the possibility of philosophical languages, and 2) to depict the thoughts of Aristoteles, Kant (Kritik der Urteilskraft), Heidegger, Gadamer, Wittgenstein, Ryle, Anscombe, McDowell, and M. Thompson as a tradition in the philosophy of knowledge, language and action, which might be called "the tradition of Phronesis."

    Publication
    • 『世界を満たす論理 —— フレーゲの形而上学と方法——』, 勁草書房, 2019年.
    • 『これからのウィトゲンシュタイン——刷新と応用のための14篇』, 荒畑靖宏・山田圭一・古田徹也［編著］, リベルタス, 2016年.
    • 『世界内存在の解釈学 —— ハイデガー「心の哲学」と「言語哲学」』春風社, 2009年.
    • Welt – Sprache – Vernunft, Ergon Verlag, Würzburg, 2006.
    • 『あらわれを哲学する――存在から政治まで』, 荒畑靖宏・吉川孝［編著］, 晃洋書房, 2023年.
  • UEEDA, Yoshinori
    Professor

    Philosophy
    Western Medieval Philosophy

    Metaphysics and epistemology in Thomas Aquinas. Analytic Thomism. Contemporary epistemology. The philosophy of religion.

    Publication
    • 『神さまと神はどう違うのか』（ちくまプリマー新書、2023）
    • 『現代認識論入門 -- ゲティア問題から徳認識論まで』 (勁草書房、2020)
    • ジョン・グレコ、上枝美典訳『達成としての知識 —認識的規範性に対する徳理論的アプローチ』(勁草書房、2020)
    • 「トマスにおける神の知の不変性と時間の認識」（『中世思想研究』58号、2016）
    • 「現実性としてのエッセ再考」 (『アルケー　関西哲学会年報』21号、2013）
  • KASHIWABATA, Tatsuya
    Professor

    Philosophy
    Philosophy of Action, Contemporary Metaphysics

    My main research areas are in the philosophy of action, the philosophy of mind and rationality, the philosophy of language, and contemporary metaphysics (including event ontology, philosophy of time, and the study of the nature of values). Recently I have been interested in the problem of the relationship between time and rationality in the context of human actions or lives, and also interested in questions about death.

    Publication
    • 『自己欺瞞と自己犠牲』（勁草書房、2007）
    • 「幸福の形式」（戸田山和久・出口康夫編『応用哲学を学ぶ人のために』世界思想社、2011）
    • 「自己欺瞞」（信原幸弘・太田紘史編『シリーズ新・心の哲学Ⅲ 情動篇』勁草書房、2014）
    • 『コミュニケーションの哲学入門』（慶應義塾大学出版会、2016）
    • 『現代形而上学入門』（勁草書房、2017）
  • HIRAI, Yasushi
    Professor

    Philosophy
    Philosophy of time and mind. Metaphysics of memory. Modern and contemporary philosophy with a focus on Bergson and Leibniz.

    While focusing on the multiscale structure in time and incorporating not only extension and tense but also aspect into philosophy of time, I hope to apply this to metaphysical problems such as consciousness, mind, freedom and memory. By reinterpreting and reformulating the ideas contained in traditional philosophical texts through the lens of contemporary analytical discussion and scientific theory, I am interested in drawing out more universal and inspiring tools of thinking from the history of philosophy.

    Publication
    • 『世界は時間でできている ベルクソン時間哲学入門』（青土社、2022）
    • 平井靖史・藤田尚志・安孫子信編『ベルクソン『物質と記憶』を再起動する』（書肆心水、2018年）
    • Yasushi Hirai (ed.) Bergson's Scientific Metaphysics, Bloomsbury 2023.
    • 森田邦久編『〈現在〉という謎 時間の空間化批判』 勁草書房。 第6章「「スケールに固有」なものとしての時間経験と心の諸問題——ベルクソン〈意識の遅延テーゼ〉から」(pp. 205-224)、「リプライ 木には木の、森には森の描き方を」(pp. 254-259)
    • Yasushi Hirai, “Bergson on Panpsychism” Parrhesia 36, 2022, 137-157.