Roppongi Dialogue is a monthly philosophy salon by Dhillon Marty Foundation in partnership with UNESCO.
Among the major philosophers of the Western canon, Hegel is unusual in having devoted significant attention to the family, which, in his Philosophy of Right, he made the first moment, or manifestation, of “ethical life”. Rereading Hegel’s thoughts, first published in1821, is a strange experience.
On the one hand, much that he says is strikingly modern – in particular his view of the family as an overcoming of solipsistic individualism, his emphasis marriage as the basis of the family and on consent as the foundation of marriage, and his emphasis on the ethical standing of children.
On the other hand, his sophisticated ethical framework serves, in practice, to justify the norms and customs of the bourgeois European respectability of his day, in particular as regards the gendered division of roles, responsibilities and labour.
Hegel thus invites reflection on whether it is possible to think philosophically about the family without simply reproducing, through a fog of verbose pretension, one’s own social circumstances and prejudices.
The second Roppongi Dialogue will focus less on the limitations of Hegel’s thinking than on his bold attempt to think of the family as the gateway to ethical life, creating the preconditions for the development of the State through the mediation of civil society. Ashe puts it (§163), “The ethical aspect of marriage consists in the parties’ consciousness of this unity as their substantive aim, and so in their love, trust, and common sharing of their entire existence as individuals”.
However, while Hegel thus explicitly captures the romantic ideal of a meeting of soulmates, he does not oppose it to the bourgeois ideals of social recognition, management of property and education of children, but on the contrary seeks to merge them within one encompassing concept. Effectively, he dismisses – as improper if not as inaccurate – his contemporary Jane Austen’s observations of the tensions between“sense” and “sensibility”.
Precisely because Hegel’s view of the family clashes with the dominant ideas of contemporary Western societies, it offers an opportunity to interrogate them, while at the same time broadening his perspective to other social and cultural settings.
Moderator
Mr.John Crowley
Chairman and CEO PHGD
Founded PHGD in 2020 to bring together a portfolio of interests in sustainable energy and environmental regeneration and has high-level international experience in the United Nations system.
Panel
H.E. Mr. Constantin Cakioussis
Ambassador of Greek to Japan
He has been the Greek Ambassador to Japan since September 2018. Ambassador Constantin Cakiouss is joined Greece’s Ministry of foreign Affairs in 1984, and since then has held a variety of positions within the Ministry, as well as postings to Finland, Croatia, Albania, Germany and China.
Dr. Darina Saliba Abi Chedid
Director / International Center for Human Sciences (CISH) – UNESCO, Byblos
Director of the International Center for Human Sciences (CISH), UNESCO in Byblos, University Professor and member of the Scientific Panel of the UNESCO Silk Road Youth Research Grant.
Instagram: @cishbyblos
Ms. Haruko Hirose
Former Japanese Ambassador to Morocco
Academic Background: Operations Research MS., Stanford University; Psychology, BS, Tokyo University. Work experience: Presently, President of Japan Morocco Association and ExternalBoard of Director of few private companies. Her vast experience expands from the Japanese Government, international organizations and Academic institutions – UNESCO and UNIDO, the Japanese Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco, Professor, the Academy for Global Leadership, Graduate school, Tokyo Technical University, and Director, Ochanomizu Women’s University.
Entertainer
Mr.Kousuke “JAW”Kadota
Sax Player
He started playing the saxophone from junior high school and formed PE’Z with friends he met while attending Kunitachi College of Music. After graduating, after making a major debut, he has been active widely in Japan and abroad for 16 years. Since 2015, he has been independent and has been supporting famous artists as well as live and recording activities sponsored by himself. He loves coffee like no other. Selmer he is an endorser.
Instagram: @Jawsax
Mr.Sohsaku Ohtake
Singer-Songwriter, Arranger, Saxophone-Player
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music,Department of Instrumental Music. He majored in saxophone. In 2006, he made a major debut from avex with his band “Otosan.” He also begins his career as a lyricist, composer and arranger. He studied saxophoneunder Yuji Ishiwatari.
Instagram: @ohtakesohsaku