Information on my current research
I am Professor and Chair in the Department of Philosophy and Director of the Centre for Philosophy, Theology and Cultural Traditions, at St. Francis Xavier University, in Nova Scotia, Canada. I am also a faculty member in the graduate programme of the Collège dominicain de philosophie et de théologie in Ottawa, Canada.
In the spring of 2001, I was
Chercheur
invité at the Chaire
UNESCO d'étude des fondements philosophiques de la justice et de
la société démocratique, Université du
Québec
à Montréal. In August 2004, I will be Visiting Professor in Philosophy of Religion at the Pontifical Athenaeum of Philosophy and Theology / Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram, Dharmaram College, in Bangalore, India.
My principal areas of scholarly and teaching interest are in:
Information on courses I am
teaching in
2003-2004
Philosophy 100 - Introductory
Philosophy
Philosophy 240 - Philosophy of
Religion
For information on other courses I have taught and on research I have directed, look here.
Information on my current research
I am the author of four books, several edited collections of scholarly essays, some 100 articles and encyclopedia articles, and have many other publications.
My work has been published in English, French, German, Polish, Farsi, Castilian, Gallego, and Chinese. I am the recipient of the President's Research Award (2001), and hold a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Research Grant for a project on British Idealism in India and South Africa.
Currently, I am at work on several books
Conferences I have recently
organised or am
organising:
For information on past conferences I have organised, look here.
Some of my current editorial responsibilities:
Some of my current administrative responsibilities:
Biographical varia (contains
information on:)
Education:
I have completed doctoral
studies in political
science
at the Sorbonne at the
Université de Paris (D.E.A.)
and in philosophy at the University of Ottawa
(Ph.D) and at the Université
Saint-Paul (D.Ph.).
I am also a graduate of Carleton University (B.A.
Hons., M.A.), the University of
Ottawa (B.A. Hons., B.Th.), Saint
Paul University (B.Ph., S.T.B., L.Ph.), and the University
of Manitoba (M.A.), and have done additional studies at: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin,
Universität Wien (Austria),
Centre Sèvres,
(Faculté de Théologie de la
Compagnie de Jésus, Paris), Collège
International de
Philosophie (Paris), Collège
de France, Collège
dominicain de
philosophie et de theologie (Ottawa), Universite du Quebec a Chicoutimi,
Memorial University of Newfoundland,
and the Goethe Institut.
Teaching and Visiting
Professorships:
In addition to teaching at St Francis Xavier, I have taught at the University of Ottawa, Carleton University, the College de l'Outaouais (Heritage Campus), the University of Saskatchewan (St Thomas More College and St Peter's College) and in institutions in France and India.
I am an Adjunct Professor in the graduate programme of the Collège dominicain de philosophie et de théologie in Ottawa, Canada.
During 2000-2001, I was a visiting Professor at the University of Pune, India (under the Indian government's DSA programme), and Professeur invité at the Chaire UNESCO d'étude des fondements philosophiques de la justice et de la société démocratique, Université du Québec à Montréal.
During 1996-1997, I was on sabbatical leave. I was Chercheur invité at the Chaire Hoover, Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium, and Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University, Canberra.
Editorial
Responsibilities:
I am the Editor of two philosophy journals - Etudes maritainiennes - Maritain Studies and Philosophy, Culture, and Traditions - and am an Associate Editor of the Journal of Dharma and of The South Pacific Journal of Philosophy and Culture.
I serve as well on the Board of Referees of the journal of the Canadian Philosophical Association, Dialogue, and am a member of the Editorial Boards of Science et esprit, Collingwood and British Idealism Studies, Universitas, Melintas, and Bradley Studies.
I was on the Editorial Board of Carrefour from 1986 until 1991, and served as Editor of the Newsletter of the Canadian Society of Christian Philosophers (from 1991 to 1999) and of the Bulletin of the Canadian Society for the Study of Religion (from 1999 to 2001).
Conference Organisation:
I am frequently involved in
the
organisation of scholarly conferences or workshops.
Currently, I am
principal organiser of a conference on Globalization,
the Environment, and Human Rights (in Ottawa, in 2004). I am also
responsible
for the planning of the annual (fall) conferences of The Canadian
Jacques Maritain Association.
In May 2003, I organised an
international conference on Philosophy,
Religion and Democracy (in Halifax; this conference was
funded
by the SSHRCC), and in August, I organised two
workshops/symposia at the World Congress of Philosophy in Istanbul,
Turkey. In 2002, I organised an international conference on Science,
Religion, and Philosophy (in Toronto; this conference was funded by the
SSHRCC, the Royal Netherlands
Embassy, and the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences). In
2001, I organised an international conference on Philosophy,
Culture, and Pluralism (in Quebec City; this conference was funded
by the SSHRCC). In the spring and summer of 2000 I organised a workshop
on Liberal
Political Thought and Rights from the 18th to 20th Century (August
2000,
in Bergen, Norway), a series of workshops on metaphysics
(September 2000, in Rome, Italy), and a conference on The
Philosophy of History (May 2000, funded by the SSHRC). In 1999, I
was principal organiser of the International Conference on Bernard
Bosanquet and the Legacy of British Idealism (Harris Manchester College, Oxford);
in 1998, I
organised the annual meeting of The
Atlantic Region Philosophical Association.
I have also
been a principal organiser of the annual conferences of the Canadian Society of
Christian Philosophers.
Service:
I serve on the Executive
Committee of
the World
Union of Catholic Philosophical Societies, (of which I am also
Secretary-General), the Canadian
Jacques Maritain Association (of which I am also President), the Canadian Society
of Christian Philosophers, (of which I am Past-President), the International
Council for Social Philosophy (India), and the Instituto
Internazionale Jacques Maritain (both of which I am a Vice President).
I am Chair of the Committee on Outreach to Christian Philosophers
Abroad of the Society of
Christian Philosophers (in the United States), and am actively
involved in a number of other professional associations.
I have served
on the Executive of the Canadian
Society for the Study of Religion (of which I was also
Membership Secretary), the Board of Directors of La
Société de philosophie de l'Outaouais and the Board
of The Canadian
Philosophical Association.
At St Francis
Xavier, I am President of the Faculty Association; I also serve on the following university administrative and Faculty Association committees. (Past Committee work includes: chairing the annual Dr
Moses
M. Coady Debating Competition).
In my spare
time, I maintain the Atlantic
Region Philosophical Association web page, as well as web pages on a number
of
'idealist' philosophers, and am actively involved in a number of other
professional associations.
Travel and Itineraries
Personal details
Although a native of
western Canada, despite having lived in each of the prairie provinces,
and despite now living in Atlantic Canada, I nevertheless retains close
ties with the nation's capital, Ottawa.
Check out the 'Hill Cam' here. I
have a particular fondness for Melbourne
(and its AFL club, the Melbourne Demons)
and Berlin as
well.
Biographical details about me can be
gleaned
from entries in Who's Who
in the World, Who's Who
in America, Who's Who
in American Education, and the Canadian Who's Who. You
might also look at some interviews on religion
and on the concept of loyalty.
My areas
of
not-quite-so-scholarly interest are... difficult to articulate. I do
find the following to be examples of 'humour'.
Readers may well wonder why.
You are visitor number
Where is Antigonish?
Local time: 
Local weather.
World time.
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DDr. William Sweet Voice: (902) 867-2341
Professor Fax: (902) 867-3243
Department of Philosophy Email: wsweet@stfx.ca
St. Francis Xavier University
P. O. Box 5000
Antigonish, N. S. B2G 2W5
Home Page http://iago.stfx.ca/people/wsweet/wsweet.html
reference material Can 1, Can 2, Can 3