Prof. Em. Dr. Heisook Kim
• President of the Fédération des Sociétés Philosophique
• Professor Emerita of Philosophy at Ewha WomansUniversity, Seoul, South Korea
• President of the Korean Philosophical Association, the Korean Association of Feminist Philosophy, and the Korean Analytic Philosophy Association
• Director of the Ewha Institute for the for the Humanities and Director of the Ewha Institute of Philosophy C by Ruth Hagengruber
I will reflect on the background through which German philosophy was introduced into East Asia, as well as its philosophical and political implications. My talk consists of 3 parts. German Philosophy in East Asia; Philosophy and Politics. One of the most intriguing aspects of the reception of German philosophy in East Asia is its close relationship with politics. The self-centered and active subjectivity emphasized in German Idealism provided ideological support for the Emperor-centered state ideology in Japan. Thirdly, Philosophy in Our Time. It seems that the philosophical pursuit of rigorous objectivity in knowledge no longer stimulates the intellectual curiosity of philosophers as it once did. Owing—perhaps both thanks and no thanks—to the rapid developments in cognitive science, neuroscience, and neurophysiology, philosophers have increasingly shifted their focus.