Date: July 30-31\, 2026 Venue: Graduate School of Intercultural Studies\, Tsurukabuto 1 Area\, Rokkodai Campus\, Kobe University Organizer: Asia Spinoza Circle\nKeynote Speaker: Kokubun Koichiro\, University of Tokyo
\n\nThe Asia Spinoza Circle (ASC) is pleased to announce its inaugural Annual International Workshop\, establishing a new platform for sustained scholarly exchange among Spinoza researchers connected to Asia. This intensive two-day workshop will bring together a select group of scholars for in-depth discussion of current research in Spinoza studies.
\n\n\nDay 19:45 Registration open
\n10:00–10:15 Opening remarks
\n\n\nSession 1: Political Imagination and Law10:15–11:00 Aurora Yu — Invented Laws and the Imagination
\n11:00–11:45 Soulhee Park — The Hebrew Republic as a Laboratory for ‘Sui Juris Esse’
\n\n\nLunch break (11:45–13:15)\n\n\nKeynote13:15–14:30 Koichiro Kokubun — Individual\, Consciousness and Multitude: On the Dilemma of the Modern Political Thought
\n\n\nSession 2: Politics and Community14:45–15:30 Shanshan Rao — Violence without Exception
\n15:30–16:15 Xun Shu — Hegel’s Rejection of Universality
\n\n\nSession 3: Spinoza in Japan16:30–17:15 Dennis Prooi — Freedom in Nishida’s Overcoming of Spinoza
\n17:15–18:00 Shozo Kamiya — Spinoza and the Limits of Modern Political Agency
\n\n\nDinner Day 1\n\n\nDay 2\n\n\nSession 4: Ethics and Human Freedom10:00–10:45 Van Tu — Assimilation Without Transcendence
\n10:45–11:30 Junshuo Bian — The Platonic Aspect of Human Freedom
\n\n\nSession 5: Mind and Faculties11:45–12:30 Christopher Kluz — Are All Ideas Affects for Spinoza?
\n12:30–13:15 Maho Eifuku — Spinoza on Devaluation of Mental Faculties
\n\n\nLunch break (13:15–14:30)\n\n\nSession 6: Metaphysics I14:30–15:15 Henry Kwok — Spinoza's Bundle Theory of the Mind
\n15:15–16:00 Ki-myoung Kim — Anti-Substantialist Theory of Causation
\n\n\nSession 7: Metaphysics II16:15–17:00 Tomoyuki Hayashi — OSR-like Solution to the Strict Necessitarianism Dispute
\n17:00–17:45 Lee Len — The Apeirist Spinoza
\n17:45–18:30 Tomoko Higuchi — Inside the Method: The TIE and Part V of Spinoza’s Ethics
\n\n18:30 Closing remarks
\n\n\nDinner Day 2\n\n\nAbout the Asia Spinoza CircleThe ASC is a collaborative network connecting Spinoza scholars across Asia. We welcome researchers with connections to Asia—whether through origins in Asian countries\, cultural and intellectual backgrounds\, current institutional affiliations with Asian institutions\, or sustained engagement with Asian philosophical traditions. Our inclusive network fosters intellectual exchange and builds a vibrant community exploring Spinoza’s philosophy through diverse Asian perspectives and contexts.
\n\nFor inquiries\, please contact: osr1998@gmail.com (Kim\, Ki-Myoung)\, thiguchi@people.kobe-u.ac.jp (Higuchi\, Tomoko)\nHomepage:https://sites.google.com/view/asiaspinozacircle
ORGANIZER: METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR