Philosophy unites East and West

Carleton’s Department of Philosophy has partnered with the University of Delhi, India to create a forum for philosophical exchange drawing on the Indian and Western philosophical traditions.

Jay Drydyk and Gordon Davis, professors of philosophy at Carleton University, along with Professor Sonia Sikka of the University of Ottawa, initiated the project to address research interests the three departments share.

“A major topic of common interest is multiculturalism, both in public policy and in intellectual life, including the question of the scope for cultural pluralism in the humanities, and in philosophy in particular,” said Davis.  All three departments have identified common interests in ethics, political theory and comparative philosophy.  Collaborating researchers will compare differences and similarities in traditional and contemporary understandings of relations between ethics, religion, philosophy and political ideology in each cultural context.

The new agreement provides graduate students in philosophy with the opportunity to participate in an exchange program.  Students from the University of Delhi (DU) are able to spend a term studying at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa.  Conversely, graduate students in philosophy from Ottawa may take graduate courses at DU in India.

Faculty members representing DU and Carleton will also develop research collaborations.  Last summer, Carleton University hosted a conference on campus attended by speakers from both India and Canada, featuring comparative approaches to ethics and ethical theory.  A second conference on these themes was held this February at DU.  Drydyk and Davis plan to expand this network of scholars via web-based collaborations, as well as conferencing and graduate teaching at DU.