We divide problems of moral philosophy into three categories: (1) Normative questions, for example, “What is the ultimate end for human society and individuals?” (2) Analytical or metaethical questions, for example, “What does the word ‘good’ mean in moral discourse?” (3) Descriptive or historical questions, for example, “Can we interpret Hume as utilitarian?” (4) Issues in Applied Ethics, for example, “Why is privacy important in the information age?” These questions must be treated appropriately in order to construct a satisfactory theory of ethics.

In this department, lectures and seminars are offered which focus on some of the preceding four types of problems. However, students are encouraged to have wider interests in various fields of philosophy. Professor Mizutani’s “Introduction to Moral Philosophy” outlines philosophical theories of action, considers what action as an object of ethics is and critically examines the relation between the action and the norm through discussing some of the dominant ethical theories in the 20th century. He also gives a seminar on philosophy of the communication and public sphere.

Many other problems are covered by visiting lectures. This academic year, for example, lectures or seminars are planned on the following topics: Liberalism, Applied Ethics, Bio-medical Ethics, Moral Realism, Levinas’s Totalite et Infinit, Kant’s Grunlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten, and other texts.

• http://www.ethics.bun.kyoto-u.ac.jp/index-e.html