Yoshiyuki Yokoro
I am currently a JSPS postdoctoral fellow at Nanzan University Institute for Social Ethics in Nagoya.
You can reach me at yokoro.y[at]keio.jp
横路 佳幸 [researchmap]
現在、学振PDとして名古屋の南山大学社会倫理研究所に所属しています。
ご連絡は、yokoro.y[at]keio.jpまでお願いします。
Profile
I work primarily in metaphysics, semantics, epistemology, and metaethics, and I have interests in the intersection of metaphysics with bioethics.
My research has focused on metaphysics of identity and other related areas including semantics and philosophical psychology. I address the following three issues: (a) What is the relation of numerical identity obtaining between every object and itself, and what is the metaphysical ground for the obtaining of it? (b) What meaning do identity-expressions such as ‘identical’ and ‘is’ have, and what is the truth condition for every identity-statement? (c) What mechanism does the cognitive individuation of objects exerted by competent perceivers have and how does it succeed? In conducting this research, I use what is called sortal concepts such as a cat, a river, and a statue, and develop a sortalist approach to issues (a) to (c) on the basis of arguments of Peter T. Geach, David Wiggins, E. J. Lowe, and others.
Recently, I have started to apply my metaphysical theories of numerical identity to identity of we human persons. I am interested in questions such as the following: What is the relationship between persons and human animals? In virtue of what fact do we persons emerge? What material parts persons have if they have any? What is the criterion of synchronic and diachronic identity for persons? Which properties are essential or accidental to persons? These questions have led me to an interest in issues that both pertain to and go beyond the study on the general notion of identity—such as the nature of consciousness, first person perspective, mereological coincidence, ontological hierarchy, animal mind, and ethics of human abortion.
My other ongoing research interests focus around metaethical issues including the connection between non-cognitive evaluative attitudes and moral properties and the possibility of moral realism that accepts the mind-dependence of morality.
Publications
Book (in Japanese)
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2021, Identity and Individuals: Toward a Unified Theory Based on Sortal Concepts, Keio University Press
Articles (in Japanese)
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2022, “Fake News in COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Epistemological Predicament”, in Institute for Social Ethics, Nanzan University (ed.), Shakai to Rinri 37.
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2022, “Constituent Ontology: Review of Bundle Theory of Universals and Substratum Theory” (w/ Hiroshi Ohata), Contemporary and Applied Philosophy 13, 197–232
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2022, “Hylomorphist Constitutionalism”, The Philosophy of Science Society, Japan (ed.), Kagaku-Tetsugaku 54, 119–138.
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2021, “Evolutionary Debunking Arguments and Humean Constructivism: Critical Examination of Street’s Views”, in Institute for Social Ethics, Nanzan University (ed.), Shakai to Rinri 36, 121–140.
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2021, “Introduction: How Have Morality and Evolution Been Related?”, in Institute for Social Ethics, Nanzan University (ed.), Shakai to Rinri 36, 67–72.
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2021, “The Brief Genealogy and Continuous Change of Sortal Concepts”, Nanzan University (ed.), Academia, Humanities and Natural Sciences 22, 231–252
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2021, Review of How to Count Animals, More or Less (written by Shelly Kagan, Oxford University Press, 2019), Tokyo Academic Review of Books 19.
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2021, “Mental Health Issues in Graduate Students”, Editorial Committee of Jinbun×Shakai (ed.), Jinbun×Shakai 1, 107–123
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2021, “How to Be an Identity-Relativist about the Trinity”, Society for Philosophy of Religion in Japan (ed.), Studies in the Philosophy of Religion 38, 87–100.
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2020, Review of Metarinrigaku no Saizensen (edited by Ryo Chonabayashi, Keiso Shobo, 2019), The Philosophy of Science Society, Japan (ed.), Kagaku-Tetsugaku 53, 103–108
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2020, “Recent Developments in Monster-Oriented Semantics” (w/ Ryohei Takaya), The Philosophy of Science Society, Japan (ed.), Kagaku-Tetsugaku 52, 61–83
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2020, Review of Hirehuse Onnatachi: Misogyny no Ronri (Japanese Translation of Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny written by Kate Manne, translated by Yoshinori Ogawa, Keio University Press, 2019), Association for Science and Philosophy (ed.), Journal of Science and Philosophy 3, 49–66
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2019, “What Are We? Animalism Versus Constitutionalism”, Contemporary and Applied Philosophy 10, 114–165
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2019, “Towards Conceptualist Realism: Identity Primitivism and Sortalist Absolutism of Identity Reconciled”, The Kansai Philosophical Association (ed.), Arche 27, 147–159
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2019, “Proliferation Strategy and Operators”, Mita Philosophy Society (ed.), Tetsugaku 143, 31–60
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2019, “Aristotle on Predication as Speech Act: Rejoinder to Kuwahara”, Association for Science and Philosophy (ed.), Journal of Science and Philosophy 2, 24–36
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2018, “The Possibility and Limitation of Identity-Relativism: From Semantic and Ontological Points of View”, The Philosophy of Science Society, Japan (ed.), Kagaku-Tetsugaku 51, 1–17
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2018, “Some Aspects of ‘Identity’: On the Validity of the Principle of the Identity of Indiscernibles”, The Philosophical Association of Japan (ed.), Tetsugaku 69, 259–273
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2018, “A Plea for Epistemic Sortalism: Individuation and the Grasp of Sortal Concept”, Japan Association for Philosophy of Science (ed.), Kagaku-Kisoron-Kenkyu 45, 35–50
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2017, “Noncognitivism, Shapelessness, and Disentanglement: The Semantics of Thick Terms”, The Japanese Society for Ethics (ed.), Rinrigaku-Nenpo 66, 189–203
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2016, “Absolute or Relative? Some Controversies over the Relationship between Identity and Sortal Concepts”, Mita Philosophy Society (ed.), Tetsugaku 137, 115–143
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2014, “Problems of Identity”, The Japan Forum for Young Philosophers (ed.), Tetsugaku-No-Tankyu 41, 181–198
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2014, “Does Idleness Save Knowledge? Skepticism, Epistemic Contextualism and Subject-Sensitive Invariantism” (w/ Yuhi Sugino), Kanawaza Journal of Philosophy and Philosophical Anthropology 5, 19–45
Articles (in English)
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forthcoming, “Sortal Concepts and Conceptions in Constitutionalism”, in Proceedings of the XXIV World Congress of Philosophy
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2019, “Explications and Implications of Epistemological Sortalism”, in K. Murakami J. Cresswell, T. Kono, and T. Zittoun (ed.), The Ethos of Theorizing: ISTP 2017, Ontario: Captus University Publications, 61–69
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2019, “Non-Cognitivism, Shapelessness, and Disentanglement: The Semantics of Thick Terms”, in The Japanese Society for Ethics (ed.), Special Issue of the Annals of Ethics 2019, 101–117
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2016, “Butler’s Distinction Defended: The Nonindexical Context-Sensitivity of ‘Identity’”, Contemporary and Applied Philosophy 8 (Selected Papers of 2nd CCPEA), 70–85
Awards&Grants
Awards
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2018, Shinzo Koizumi Memorial Scholarship, Keio University
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2017, Watsuji Prize (Essay Division), The Japanese Society for Ethics
Grants
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2021 - Present, Young Researchers' Exchange Program Between Japan and Switzerland 2020, ETH Zurich
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2020 - Present, Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)
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2019 - 2021, Ishimoto Grant for Young Researchers, Philosophy of Science Society, Japan
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2018, Yamanami Books Grant for Exploratory Research, Yamanami Books
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2018, Ishimoto Travel Grant for Attending International Conference, Philosophy of Science Society, Japan
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2018, Hayashi Grant for Young Researchers, The Philosophical Association of Japan
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2018, Graduate School Doctoral Student Aid Program (Quota for Recommendation of Graduate School), Keio University
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2015 - 2018, Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)
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