StFX Philosophy Professor Dr. William Sweet has recently returned from a visit to Italy, where he was a guest of the Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, the Gregorian University, and the Istituto Internazionale Jacques Maritain (IIJM).
Dr. Sweet was invited to Rome by colleagues organizing the 25th World Congress of Philosophy and the pre-Congress conference on ‘Discerning Bounderies: Philosophy across Cultures,’ as well as the IIJM.
Dr. Sweet serves as a Section Chair for the Congress, is part of the committee selecting speakers for the Conference on Discerning Boundaries, and a member of the executive committee of the IIJM. During his time in Rome, he also met with scholars from Italian universities with graduate and post doctoral students in philosophy, politics, and law. Dr. Sweet also had the honour of a private audience with Pope Francis in the Vatican City.
The World Congress of Philosophy is held every five years in a major international centre. Under auspices of the International Federation of Philosophical Societies (FISP), on whose steering and programme committee Dr. Sweet served from 2003-2018, the World Congress brings together from seven to 10 thousand philosophers from around the world for an eight day series of meetings. Sessions focus on the philosophical analysis of and contributions to global issues – this time including ‘Vulnerability and Knowledge’, ‘Translation, Imagination, and Interdisciplinarity, ’Epistemic Injustice, Power, and Struggle,’ ‘Living in a Sustainable World,’ and ‘Biodiversity and the Environment.’ The World Congress has met regularly since the first World Congress in Paris in 1900, and every five years since 1948. The 2024 Congress will take place in Rome on the theme of Philosophy across Boundaries
Dr. Sweet’s meetings in Rome followed on earlier trips this year to East Asia, South Africa, the United States, and Northern Europe, where he lectured at the Universities of Johannesburg, Bucharest, Dallas, and Dublin, and at the Institutes of Philosophy in Hanoi and Taipei.
