The Philosophical Association of Japan seeks to promote the study of philosophy and active interaction among researchers from philosophy, working as a forum to discuss on research, education and the role of philosophy in the modern world.
History of the Philosophical Association of Japan (PAJ)
In 1874 NISHI Amane (1829-1897), who had studied social sciences and philosophy from 1863 to 1865 at the University of Leiden/the Netherlands, first translated the word “philosophy” with the Japanese term “tetsugaku.” This term, written in Chinese characters, was widely adopted in East Asia. This new term penetrated naturally into Japanese society and gradually came to play an important role in the development of humanities during half a century. In 1949, the Philosophical Association of Japan was founded by Japanese philosophers, and AMANO Teiyū (1884-1980) was elected its first president. Beginning in 1952, especially through the efforts of the presidents AMANO, IDE Takashi (1892-1980), SHIMOMURA Toratarō (1902-1995), MUTAI Risaku (1880- 1974), WATSUJI Tetsurō (1889-1960), the journal『哲學』PHILOSOPHY (Tetsugaku): Annual Review of the Philosophical Association of Japan(mainly in Japanese) was published with the primary purpose of offering occasions for the exchange of opinions and information about research in philosophy inside and outside of Japan. Since then, the journal has been published annually, with its most recent, Volume 69, published in April of 2018. The members of our Association number about 1,400 at present, and we focus mainly on western philosophy from ancient to contemporary, from theoretical to practical, from the philosophy of science to applied philosophy as well as Japanese modern philosophy.
