معرفی
Bret W. Davis is Professor and Higgins Chair in Philosophy at Loyola University Maryland, where he teaches courses spanning Asian, Western, and cross-cultural philosophy. His scholarship bridges East Asian philosophy (with emphasis on Zen Buddhism and the Kyoto School), Continental philosophy (notably Heidegger, phenomenology, and hermeneutics), and comparative philosophy of religion.
- Education: B.A. in Philosophy, Trinity University (1989); M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy, Vanderbilt University (1996, 2001).
- International Experience: Graduate studies and teaching in Japan (1996–2004); Visiting Scholar at Freiburg University (2007–2008, 2023–2025); Senior Fellow at FRIAS (2023–2025).
His research interrogates the relationship between philosophy and practice, exemplified by his twenty-year Zen meditation training in Japan under Tanaka Hōjū Rōshi and Kobayashi Gentoku Rōshi, culminating in his recognition as a Rinzai Zen master in 2023. He integrates this practice into his teaching through The Heart of Zen Meditation Group, which he directs, and courses like PL 314 Environmental Ethics and PL 365D Japanese Philosophy.
Scientific Contributions include editing The Oxford Handbook of Japanese Philosophy (2020) and authoring over 100 scholarly works. His concept of philosophical Euromonopolism challenges the notion that philosophy is exclusively Western, advocating for a world philosophy paradigm that values dialogical exchanges across traditions.
- Awards: Nachbahr Award (2015), Distinguished Scholar of the Year (2021).
- Leadership: Series Co-Editor for World Philosophies (Indiana University Press); Executive Committee Member of the International Society for Contemplative Research and Comparative and Continental Philosophy Circle.
