Licence en Philosophie

The Department of Philosophy offers a large number of lectures that cover both western and eastern philosophy (particularly that of India, China, and Japan) as well as other cultural aspects such as art, religion, and society in general. Our curriculum is organized so that students not only study areas of interest but discover new interests along the way. Each course is designed with subject matters meant to surprise and encourage students to shape their own philosophical understanding of the world. Students in this department have the unique opportunity of learning how to accurately express themselves through thought-provoking discussions among small groups. With seminars that offer an intimate setting for students to expound on their ideas, students will gain the ability to think more deeply and manifest those thoughts into action.

In 1870, the Meiji government ordered various local governments to send "persons qualified for positions of authority in government" to developed nations as overseas observers or students. The swift absorption of Western academic practices and knowledge was necessary to further Japan's modernization.

The founders of Senshu University, Nagatane Soma, Inajiro Tajiri, Tanetaro Megata, and Shigetada Komai were among those sent to the US at the expense of the central or local governments. While studying overseas, Soma and Megata deepened their friendship with other Japanese students studying in similar circumstances, and together they formed a study group called "the Japan Law Company". Tajiri and Komai, on the other hand, studied economics and public finance, and together began translating academic papers on public finance into Japanese. Later Soma and his legal study group and Tajiri and his economical group met at Yale University and discussed the prospect of founding a college in Japan in which economics and law would be taught.

After returning home, they founded Senshu College in 1880, the first school in Japan comprising Economics and Law Departments to systematically offer a specialized educational curriculum in the Japanese language. The Economics department was the first institute of higher learning in Japan to offer training in economics. The Economics Department was independent of the Literary Department as well as the Law Department. Our system was one step ahead of the U.S. educational system at that time. That college was the forerunner of today's Senshu University.