The CALL Uehiro Program supported two symposia and three colloquium sessions at the 97th Annual Meeting of the American Philosophical Association, Pacific Division. This year marked the 100th anniversary of the Pacific Division founded in 1924 as an independent society for philosophy on the Pacific coast of North America.
The symposium “The Reach of Ancient Ethics,” a panel of five leading scholars of ancient Greek philosophy, examined how ancient ethics connects to contemporary ethical concerns from a variety of angles.The other symposium, “150th Anniversary of The Methods of Ethics (1874) by Henry Sidgwick,” not only brought together the most prominent experts on Henry Sidgwick’s philosophy but also served as a joint panel of scholars from North America and Japan. The discussion in this second symposium was intense and intriguing, extending into the evening and continuing the following day for further sharing of insights.
“Joining the APA Pacific Division was a landmark experience for me,” remarked a PhD student from the University of Tokyo, who attended the APA conference for the first time as a commentator. He added, “I was able to learn firsthand about international academic exchange, the level of discussion, and what it takes to be a part of it.”
The three colloquium sessions supported by the CALL Uehiro Program presented cutting-edge research on Kant, American Pragmatism, and Indian Buddhist philosophy. The scholarship on Kant was marked by outstanding rigor, the session on American Pragmatism attracted an impressively international audience, and the session on Indian Buddhist philosophy was exemplary in fostering cross-cultural philosophical exchange.