Established in 1936 under the leadership of Charles A. Moore and Wing-tsit Chan, the Department of Philosophy at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa dedicated itself to an ambitious but historically necessary project: the bringing together of Western and Eastern philosophers in a community of critical discourse – a vision that gave rise to the longstanding East-West Philosophers’ Conference series, inaugurated in 1939. In the early stages, emphasis was placed on introducing Western philosophers to the major ideas and distinctive ways of thinking offered by Asian cultures.

 Broad survey courses in Indian and Chinese philosophy were offered; conferences involving leading philosophers of both Asian and Western countries were held; the journal Philosophy East and West was founded (1951). During the late fifties and sixties, the Department grew rapidly. Eliot Deutsch succeeded Charles A. Moore upon his retirement in 1967 as editor of Philosophy East and West and as professor of comparative philosophy. Specialists in the Asian philosophical traditions such as S. K. Saksena (succeeded by K. N. Upadhyaya) in Indian philosophy, Kenneth Inada (succeeded by David J. Kalupahana) in Buddhist philosophy, Thomas P. Kasulis (succeeded by Steve Odin and Graham Parkes in Japanese Philosophy), Chung-ying Cheng, Chung-yuan Chang (succeeded by Roger T. Ames) in Chinese philosophy have been responsible for building up the undergraduate and graduate curriculum in Asian philosophy.

During this period, the Department’s traditional areas of strength continued to grow. In 1969, Irving Copi (Logic, Russell, Frege, Wittgenstein) joined the faculty, and with Lenn Goodman’s appointment that same year, the Department expanded into Islamic philosophy, thereby further enhancing its representation of non-Western intellectual traditions. The hiring of Ken Kipnis (Ethics) in 1979, followed in the late 1980s by Larry Laudan (Philosophy of Science), Jim Tiles (Ancient Greek Philosophy and Logic), Mary Tiles (Philosophy of Science and Mathematics, Logic), and Ron Bontekoe (History of Western Philosophy, Hermeneutics), widened the Department’s intellectual reach substantially.

Tamara Albertini’s 1995 appointment, following Goodman’s retirement, maintained the Department’s strength in Islamic philosophy while adding Contemporary Arab and Renaissance philosophies as new areas of focus. In 1996, two years after K. N. Upadhyaya’s retirement, the arrival of Arindam Chakrabarti (who later became the Inaugural Lenney Distinguished Chair) restored the Department’s expertise in Indian and analytic philosophies, while Vrinda Dalmiya expanded coverage in feminist philosophy and epistemology. Roy Perrett joined the Department in 2002, replacing David Kalupahana, who had retired in 2000.

When Graham Parkes accepted a position at University College Cork in 2008, he was succeeded the following year by Masato Ishida, whose expertise includes Japanese philosophy, American Pragmatism, and Logic. With Roy Perrett’s departure in 2010, the Department appointed Rajam Raghunathan to cover South Asian Buddhism and ancient Greek philosophy. In 2011, Joseph Tanke joined to strengthen aesthetics and Continental philosophy, followed in 2012 by George Tsai, who added further depth in ethics and social and political philosophy.

In 2017, the Department renewed its strength in Chinese and comparative philosophy with the appointment of Franklin Perkins, who came from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He replaced the retired Roger Ames as editor of Philosophy East and West. The following year, 2018, saw the hiring of Sean M. Smith whose expertise in Indian Buddhist philosophy, philosophy of mind and cognitive science greatly broadened the Department’s coverage in South Asian and analytic philosophy. In 2020, Jonathan Fine joined the Department to cover Greek and Roman Philosophy. Most recently, in 2025, the Department welcomed Keya Maitra as Lenney Distinguished Professor of Philosophy. Maitra (formerly at UNC Asheville) brings scholarship in classical Indian philosophy, feminist philosophy of mind, and transnational feminism.

Unique among departments of philosophy in American universities, our Department possesses the resources to support doctoral work in Indian, Islamic, Buddhist, Chinese, Contemporary Arab, and Japanese as well as Western philosophy. During the 1960s, emphasis was placed on the development of language skills. Students were expected to attain a high level of competence in one or two languages (European or Asian) relevant to their area of research. At the present time the faculty is conversant in Greek, Latin, Arabic, German, French, Sanskrit, Pali, Chinese, and Japanese. Graduate students from countries such as China, India, Korea, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand have considerably enriched the diverse cultural and linguistic life of the Department.

The Department has long embraced a deep commitment to education and serving the broader community. In 1987, the Department created a specialist position to support the practice of Philosophy for Children (p4c) in local schools. Thomas Jackson was the founder of p4c Hawai‘i and served as the Director of the Philosophy in Schools program and then, in 2012, the University of Hawai‘i Uehiro Academy for Philosophy and Ethics in Education. Upon his retirement in 2025, leadership of the Academy passed to Ben Lukey and Toby Yos—both specialists housed within the Department—who now carry forward the vision and mission of p4c Hawai‘i.

The Department sponsors an undergraduate major; a minor with six possible concentrations; and graduate programs leading to the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. It also houses the Certificate in Islamic Studies (open to both undergraduate and graduate students) as well as the minor in P4C Hawai‘i. In addition, Philosophy courses contribute to the Classics B.A. program, the Interdisciplinary Health Humanities Minor, the Undergraduate Certificate in Law and Society, and the Graduate Certificate P4C Hawai‘i in Curriculum Studies.

Over one hundred visiting and exchange professors have contributed significantly to the life of the Department; the East-West Philosophers’ Conference continues to expand; the Department hosts meetings of national and international societies, and sponsors both visiting and local speakers at departmental colloquia.

Being at once highly productive and extraordinarily diverse, the members of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa share in their commitment to the highest standards of intellectual integrity and together celebrate their rich tradition.