An international peer-reviewed open access journal dedicated to the philosophy of life, death, and nature, supported by the Research Institute for Contemporary Philosophy of Life , Osaka Prefecture 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 both from this website and from the repository of Osaka Prefecture University (OPERA ). This journal is a member of the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ ).

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 4

Paper
Narrating Life and Hope
: Social Struggles in Japanese Post-modernity and the Impact of the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster
Azumi Tamura
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.4, No.1 (January 2014):1-27
[Abstract] [PDF] Open Access

Essay
Does Happiness Die With Us?
: An Aristotelian Examination of the Fortunes of the Deceased
Edward C. DuBois
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.4, No.1 (January 2014):28-37
[Abstract] [PDF] Open Access

Essay
What Little Remains of Life
Ben G. Yacobi
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.4, No.1 (January 2014):38-47
[Abstract] [PDF] Open Access

Essay
The Happiness of Burnout
Finn Janning
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.4, No.1 (January 2014):48-67
[Abstract] [PDF] Open Access

Paper
The Incoherence of Denying My Death
Lajos L. Brons
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.4, No.2 (May 2014):68-89
[Abstract] [PDF] Open Access

Essay
A Woman Like Us?
: On Margarethe von Trotta’s “Hannah Arendt”
Kei Hiruta
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.4, No.3 (July 2014): 90-98
[Abstract] [PDF] Open Access

Special Report
Discrepancies of Abortion Methods and Values Between Japan and the World
Kumi Tsukahara
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.4, No.4 (December 2014):99-120
[Abstract] [PDF] Open Access

Essay
True Detective: Pessimism, Buddhism or Philosophy?
Finn Janning
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.4, No.4 (December 2014):121-141
[Abstract] [PDF] Open Access

Volume 3

Paper
The Life-Value of Death
: Mortality, Finitude, and Meaningful Lives
Jeff Noonan
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.3, No.1 (January 2013):1-23
[Abstract] [PDF] Open Access

Paper
The Economic and Family Context of Philosophical Autobiography
: Acting ‘As-If’ for American Buddenbrooks
Christine A. James
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.3, No.1 (January 2013):24-43
[Abstract] [PDF] Open Access

Paper
A Coleridgean Account of Meditative Experience
Peter Cheyne
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.3, No.1 (January 2013):44-67
[Abstract] [PDF] Open Access

Essay
Liberation through Compassion and Kindness
: The Buddhist Eightfold Path as a Philosophy of Life
William Irwin
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.3, No.1 (January 2013):68-82
[Abstract] [PDF] Open Access

Essay
Ethical Selves
: A Sketch for a Theory of Relational Authenticity
Natalie Fletcher
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.3, No.1 (January 2013):83-96
[Abstract] [PDF] Open Access

Essay
After Freud
: How Well Do We Know Ourselves and Why Does It Matter?
Kathleen O’Dwyer
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.3, No.2 (April 2013):97-107
[Abstract] [PDF] Open Access

Essay
Towards a Return to One’s Essence
: Some Reflections on Nietzsche and Heidegger
Dennis A. de Vera
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.3, No.2 (April 2013):108-126
[Abstract] [PDF] Open Access

Essay
Better to Be a Renunciant
: Buddhism, Happiness, and the Good Life
Charles K. Fink
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.3, No.2 (April 2013):127-144
[Abstract] [PDF] Open Access

Paper
Is God Our Benefactor?
: An Argument from Suffering
Dagfinn Sjaastad Karlsen
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.3, No.3 (September 2013):145-167
[Abstract] [PDF] Open Access

Paper
Death and the Colonial Difference
: An Analysis of a Mexican Idea
Carlos Alberto Sánchez
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.3, No.3 (September 2013):168-189
[Abstract] [PDF] Open Access

Discussion Paper
The Value of the Pre-Person
: Potentiality, Person-Maker Criteria, and Social Dimension
Mirko Ancillotti
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.3, No.3 (September 2013):190-201
[Abstract] [PDF] Open Access

Essay
The Human Dilemma
: Life Between Illusion and Reality
Ben G. Yacobi
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.3, No.3 (September 2013):202-211
[Abstract] [PDF] Open Access

Essay
On Artificial and Animal Electricity
: Alessandro Volta vs. Luigi Galvani
Diana Soeiro
Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.3, No.3 (September 2013):212-237
[Abstract] [PDF] Open Access

> Articles Before Volume 3

Call for Manuscripts

1) Call for manuscripts for Vol.5, No.2 (2015): The deadline for submissions is April 30, 2015.
2) Call for manuscripts for "Critical Engagements with Meaning in Life," a special issue on Thaddeus Metz's book Meaning in Life: An Analytic Study (Oxford University Press, 2014). Critical discussions of the book will be welcomed, especially (but not solely) those that evaluate it in light of characteristically non Anglo-American standpoints. The deadline for submissions is March 31, 2015. Accepted manuscripts will be published under the category of either paper or book review. Thaddeus Metz will help serve as a guest editor, and will also publish a reply to papers that have been accepted for publication.

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[*at*]philosophyoflife.org and morioka[*at*]hs.osakafu-u.ac.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 (except for essays and book reviews) must include an abstract in English. Abstract must not exceed 150 words in length.
4. Contributors must use this format (WORD file) and follow its layout style. 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 book reviews. 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 edited by native English speakers before being submitted. An online editing service, such as Proeditor , is recommended for contributors whose first language is not English.
7. Manuscripts of papers will be examined by two anonymous referees. Manuscripts for essays and book reviews will be reviewed by the editor(s). We try to give authors our decision within ten weeks. Once accepted, papers should appear within a couple of weeks on this website.
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 both on the website of Journal of Philosophy of Life and on the repository of Osaka Prefecture University (OPERA ). All articles will be indexed by search engines (e.g. Google Scholar ).

Editors

Masahiro Morioka (editor-in-chief), College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, Japan
Kazuyuki Hosomi, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Osaka Prefecture 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 Johannesburg, South Africa
Christian Steineck, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Mark Zlomislic, Conestoga College, Canada

Bibliographic Data