UMass Boston

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Yumiko Inukai

Department:
Philosophy
Title:
Department Chair
Location:
Wheatley Hall Floor 05

Area of Expertise

Early modern philosophy (esp. Hume), William James, nature and phenomenology of the self

Degrees

PhD, University of Pennsylvania, 2005

Professional Publications & Contributions

  • "Perceptions and Objects: Hume's Radical Empiricism," Hume Studies, 37 (2), 2013
  • "Honen and James on Religious Transformation: Psychological Conditions of Conversion and the Nembutsu," Philosophy East and West, 62 (4), October 2012
  • "James’ Answer to Hume: the Empirical Basis of the Unified Self," British Journal for the History of Philosophy, 20 (2), April 2012
  • "Hume on Relations: Are They Real?" Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 40 (2), June 2010
  • “Hume’s Labyrinth: The Bundling Problem,” History of Philosophy Quarterly, 24 (3), July 2007

Additional Information

My research has been focused on David Hume, in particular, his theory of mind and his account of the self. I have been working on questions about the nature and phenomenology of the self, exploring the empiricist accounts found in Hume and James as well as contemporary debates over the self and self-consciousness. I am also interested in a comparative study between “western” and “non-western” philosophical traditions, in which I particularly investigate the Buddhist conception and phenomenology of the self and their relation to two most practiced methods in Buddhism, the recitation of “Nembutsu” and sitting meditation.

Courses Taught

  • Self
  • Hume
  • Modern Philosophy
  • Asian Philosophy
  • Introduction to Philosophy

Philosophy Faculty page

Philosophy Department page