JPL logo Journal of Philosophy of Life

An international peer-reviewed open access journal dedicated to the philosophy of life, death, and nature, supported by Waseda Institute of Life and Death Studies and by Advanced Research Center for Human Sciences, Waseda University.

ISSN 2185-4505

 

Aim

The aim of this journal is to promote international dialogue on the philosophy of life. It features original, full-length papers as well as research reports and other relevant materials. Every paper in the journal is published in PDF format and is freely downloadable from this website, the repository of Waseda University , and/or the repository of Osaka Prefecture University .

 

Philosophy of Life

We define philosophy of life as an academic research field that encompasses the following activities:
1) cross-cultural, comparative, or historical research on philosophies of life, death, and nature.
2) philosophical and ethical analysis of contemporary issues concerning human and non-human life in the age of modern technology.
3) philosophical analysis of the concepts surrounding life, death, and nature.

Our research methods include the interpretative study of particular philosophers, comparative research in the history of ideas, normative approaches to applied ethics, and philosophical-metaphysical-conceptual analysis.

Journal of Philosophy of Life deals with a variety of philosophical issues concerning life, death, and nature, that arise in a wide range of fields including bioethics, environmental ethics, environmental philosophy, religious studies, gender studies, philosophy of science, philosophy of biology, biopolitics, nursing studies, philosophy of education, Holocaust studies, peace studies, and the history of ideas.

 

List of Articles

Volume 14

Special Issue: Philosophy and Meaning in Life Vol.5: Selected Papers from the Tohoku Conference

Preface
[PDF] Open Access

Perfectionism and Vulgarianism About a Meaningful Life
David Matheson
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.14, No.1 (March 2024):1-13
[Abstract][PDF] Open Access

What’s the Point If We’re All Going to Die?
: Pessimism, Moderation, and the Reality of the Past
Matthew Pianalto
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.14, No.1 (March 2024):14-34
[Abstract][PDF] Open Access

[Review Article]
Meaning in Life in the Context of Psychopathology and Personal Recovery

Bernice Brijan
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.14, No.1 (March 2024):35-53
[Abstract][PDF] Open Access

Open Access Book 
Philosophy and Meaning in Life Vol.5: Selected Papers from the Tohoku Conference
Edited by Masahiro Morioka 
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.14, No.1 (March 2024):1-53
[PDF][Repository] Open Access

 

Volume 13

Special Issue: Artificial Intelligence, Robots, and Philosophy

Preface
[PDF] Open Access

Introduction
: Descartes and Artificial Intelligence
Masahiro Morioka
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.13, No.1 (January 2023):1-4
[PDF][Repository] Open Access

Isaac Asimov and the Current State of Space Science Fiction
: In the Light of Space Ethics
Shin-ichiro Inaba
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.13, No.1 (January 2023):5-28
[PDF][Repository] Open Access

Artificial Intelligence and Contemporary Philosophy
: Heidegger, Jonas, and Slime Mold
Masahiro Morioka
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.13, No.1 (January 2023):29-43
[PDF][Repository] Open Access

Implications of Automating Science
: The Possibility of Artificial Creativity and the Future of Science
Makoto Kureha
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.13, No.1 (January 2023):44-63
[PDF][Repository] Open Access

Why Autonomous Agents Should Not Be Built for War
István Zoltán Zárdai
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.13, No.1 (January 2023):64-96
[PDF][Repository] Open Access

Wheat and Pepper
: Interactions Between Technology and Humans
Minao Kukita
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.13, No.1 (January 2023):97-111
[PDF][Repository] Open Access

Clockwork Courage
: A Defense of Virtuous Robots
Shimpei Okamoto
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.13, No.1 (January 2023):112-124
[PDF][Repository] Open Access

Reconstructing Agency from Choice
Yuko Murakami
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.13, No.1 (January 2023):125-134
[PDF][Repository] Open Access

Gushing Prose
: Will Machines Ever be Able to Translate as Badly as Humans?
Rossa Ó Muireartaigh
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.13, No.1 (January 2023):135-146
[PDF][Repository] Open Access

Open Access Book 
Artificial Intelligence, Robots, and Philosophy
Edited by Masahiro Morioka 
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.13, No.1 (January 2023):1-146
[PDF][Repository] Open Access

 

 

> Articles Before Volume 12

 

Call for Manuscripts

* The call for papers is currently closed. However, we receive manuscripts by the authors who have published their papers/essays in the previous volumes of JPL.
* We encourage those who wish to publish papers in our journal to give presentations at the International Conference on Philosophy and Meaning in Life and send us revised manuscripts after the conference.

Please see the "Note to Contributors" section below.

 

Note to Contributors

  1. Manuscripts should be sent to the editor (please send to both of the following addresses: journal[a]philosophyoflife.org and morioka[a]waseda.jp).
  2. Unpublished English manuscripts will be considered for publication. Manuscripts must be written in English and normally should not exceed 8.000 words in length. In exceptional cases longer manuscripts may be published if it is deemed truly necessary.
  3. Manuscripts must include an abstract in English. Abstract must not exceed 150 words in length. Contributor should send information about the author using this format.
  4. Manuscripts should generally follow Chicago Manual of Style. Use of JPL format is also recommended. Submitted WORD files will be converted to a PDF and uploaded with some headers added. Contributors are responsible for the layout of the uploaded file.
  5. We accept the following three categories of manuscripts: papers, essays, and reports. While contributors can designate which category their manuscript should belong to, the final decision will be left to the editors. Papers include original academic papers, preliminary reports, survey papers, and papers which contain a summary or essential elements of a paper or papers that the author has previously published in his or her native languages. Essays include short & long essays and periodical essays. Please note that some manuscripts submitted as papers might be published under the category of preliminary reports, survey papers, or essays.
  6. Manuscripts must be proofread by native English speakers before being submitted. Online editing services are recommended for contributors whose first language is not English.
  7. Manuscripts of papers will be examined by our editorial staff and if promising they will be forwarded to anonymous referees. Manuscripts of essays will be reviewed by the editor(s). We try to give authors our decision within ten weeks. Once accepted, papers should appear within four weeks on this website. We do not necessarily provide information about referees' comments. Manuscripts submitted by the editors or the members of editorial advisory board will be treated as invited papers/essays and will be reviewed by the editors. (Revised in July 2017).
  8. The copyright of published manuscripts will be the property of Journal of Philosophy of Life. While Journal of Philosophy of Life reserves the right to publish the manuscripts, the authors are allowed to duplicate, print, or upload their manuscripts without permission once they are published in the journal. This means that authors can freely upload their articles to their website, or publish them as a chapter in a book.
  9. We do not charge any open-access fees to contributors.
  10. By submitting their manuscripts all contributors are deemed to have given permission for the publication of their manuscripts on the website of Journal of Philosophy of Life and on the repository of Waseda University .

 

Editors

Masahiro Morioka (editor-in-chief), Faculty of Human Sciences, Waseda University, Japan
Kazuyuki Hosomi, Faculty of Integrated Human Studies, Kyoto University, Japan
Tetsuhiko Shinagawa, Faculty of Letters, Kansai University, Japan

 

Editorial Advisory Board

Bertold Bernreuter, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico
Thaddeus Metz, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Christian Steineck, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Mark Zlomislic, Conestoga College, Canada

 

Bibliographic Data

Title: Journal of Philosophy of Life
ISSN: 2185-4505
Place of Publication: School of Human Sciences, Waseda University, 2-579-15 Mikajima, Tokorozawa-shi, Saitama, 3591192 Japan. (Former Place of Publication: Research Institute for Environmental Philosophy and Philosophical Anthropology, Research Organization for the 21st Century, Osaka Prefecture University. Gakuencho 1-1, Naka-ku, Sakai-shi, Osaka, 5998531 Japan).
Publisher: Waseda Institute of Life and Death Studies, Waseda University.
Editor-in-chief: Masahiro Morioka
Email: journal[a]philosophyoflife.org
*The first issue of the journal was published on March 24, 2011. This website was established on April 9, 2010.

Journal of Philosophy of Life (Publisher)
ISBN:978-4-9908668(0-8/1-5/2-2/3-9/4-6/5-3/6-0/7-7/8-4/9-1)
Place of Publication: School of Human Sciences, Waseda University, 2-579-15 Mikajima, Tokorozawa-shi, Saitama, 3591192 Japan.