William Sweet
Adjunct Professor | Faculty staff
E-mail : wsweet@stfx.ca
Biography
Prof. William Sweet holds doctoral-level degrees in philosophy (PhD and DPhil) and systematic theology (DTh), as well as a doctoral-level diploma in political science (DEA). He has studied at (among other places) the Universities of Paris, Ottawa, Saint Paul, South Africa, Manitoba, Carleton, Vienna, and Berlin. He has been a visiting professor in Beijing, Taipei, Lublin (Poland), Bangalore (India), Canberra (Australia), and Louvain-la-neuve (Belgium), was the Visiting Professor (Overseas) of the Indian Council for Philosophical Research, and has lectured in over 50 countries.
His principal areas of scholarly interest include intercultural philosophy, human rights and the philosophy of law, bioethics, and late 19th and early 20th century Anglo-American and French Philosophy. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and of the Royal Historical Society, and a Permanent member of the Institut international de Philosophie (Paris).
Among his recent books are: Before and After Democracy: Philosophy, Religion, and Politics (2023), Philosophy Re-engaging Cultures and Ways of Life (2022), and Care of Self and Meaning of Life (2016; ed. with Cristal Huang), and he is completing a book on Diversity, Boundaries, and Inclusion.
- Philosophy of religion
- Intercultural Philosophy
- Biomedical Ethics
- Ethics and Political Philosophy
D.Ph. – Saint Paul University, Ottawa
D.Th. (systematic theology) – University of South Africa, Pretoria
Ph.D. – Université d’Ottawa
D.É.A.(sc. pol.) – Université de Paris 1 – Sorbonne
L.Ph. – Saint Paul University
M.A. – University of Manitoba
M.A.(Ph./Rel.) – Carleton University
S.T.B. magna cum laude – Saint Paul University
B.Th. magna cum laude – Université d’Ottawa & Saint Paul University
B.Ph. magna cum laude – Saint Paul University
B.A.(Hons.) magna cum laude – Université d’Ottawa
B.A.(Hons.Ph./Rel.) – Carleton University
Books:
- Responses to the Enlightenment, Amsterdam/New York: Rodopi, 2012; Leiden: Brill, 2015 [with Hendrik Hart].
- Religious Belief: The Contemporary Debate, Bangalore: Dharmaram Publishers, 2003.
- Religion, Science, and Non-Science, Bangalore: Dharmaram Publishers, 2003.
- Idealism and Rights, Lanham, MD: 1997 – a Chinese translation (by Yipeng Yu), with an additional chapter, is forthcoming (2025) from Commercial Press in Beijing.
Recent Books (as Editor):
- Before and After Democracy: Philosophy, Religion, and Politics, Leuven (Belgium): Peeters, 2023.
- Philosophy Re-engaging Cultures and Ways of Life, Washington, DC: Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, 2022 [ed., with George F. McLean].
- What is Intercultural Philosophy?, Washington, DC: Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, 2014.
- Ideas under Fire: Historical Studies of Philosophy and Science in Adversity, Madison, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2013; paperback, 2017 [ed., with Jonathan Lavery and Louis Groarke]
- Philosophy Emerging from Culture, Washington, DC: Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, 2013. [ed., with G.F. McLean and O. Blanchette].
- Migrating Texts and Traditions, Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2012.
- Intercultural Dialogue and Human Rights, Washington, DC: Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, 2011 [ed., with Roberto Papini and Luigi Bonanate].