Ching-yuen Cheung’s and Wing-keung Lam’s edited volume Globalizing Japanese Philosophy as an Academic Discipline (V&R Unipress, 2017) is a collection of essays written by scholars of Japanese philosophy from all over the world, from Asia to Europe to the Americas – as is appropriate for a book whose aim is to reflect on the potential and enjeu of Japanese philosophy within the global context.
The book is divided into two parts, namely, “Japanese Philosophy: Teaching and Research in the Global World,” and “Japanese Philosophy as an Academic Discipline.” The first part contains practical reports about the current situation (and challenges) of teaching and research in the field of Japanese philosophy. The areas discussed are Japan, Canada, France, Spain and English-speaking regions. The second part consists of essays on various topics, texts and thinkers, from Nishida Kitarō, Kuki Shūzō, and Tanabe Hajime to contemporary philosophers such as Sakabe Megumi.
In the interview with Ching-yuen Cheung, one of the editors, we touch upon the most important points of the book while at the same time digressing (philosophically, of course) to various other themes, from the practice of teaching philosophy to the advantages and dangers of English as a lingua franca.