Ryu Susato - Appointed in AY2017

As an undergraduate, I wasn't very interested in modern economics; I was more drawn to philosophy. Also, studying the history of economics in an undergraduate class sparked my interest in the formative period of economics (the late 18th century). Adam Smith, now known as the father of economics, was actually a professor of moral philosophy at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. "Moral philosophy" is translated into Japanese as "dōtoku tetsugaku" (moral philosophy), but in contrast to natural philosophy, which corresponds to today's natural sciences, it is equivalent to the social sciences. However, since "moral" originally refers to the artificial (what humans do) as opposed to the natural, it also encompassed the humanities. In fact, Smith left behind works ranging from "The Theory of Moral Sentiments," a work of what we would now call ethics, to writings on the history of philosophy and language. If I may speak frankly, it was this academic "eclecticism" that was the biggest reason for my interest in this period. This is how I came to pursue the history of social thought, a field that seeks to clarify the ideas of thinkers across diverse areas, including not only economics but also philosophy, morality, law, and politics.

The figure I primarily study is David Hume, a close friend of Adam Smith. Although he is not very well known in Japan, he is known in political thought as a critic of social contract theory and is also important in philosophy as the philosopher who awakened Kant from his "dogmatic slumber." He also left behind a voluminous historical work, "The History of England." Furthermore, Hume wrote a work titled "Political Discourses" (published in 1752), in which he also engages in economic arguments. However, my interest still lies in the connection between economics and other fields. For example, the luxury debates of that time, in which Hume was also involved (the question of whether luxury should be permitted), are not only important for understanding the formation of economics but are also deeply connected to the politics and morality of the era, and can even be said to be a theme relevant to the present day. Although I also research things that at first glance seem completely unrelated to economics, my underlying research theme is the question of what kind of era modern Western society, which gave birth to economics, was.

As a student who was in the Faculty of Economics but wasn't very interested in economics myself, I hope to convey the fascination of economics to students by showing them, through the field of the history of social thought, where economics intersects with other domains. Also, while I didn't have a strong interest in various social issues as an undergraduate, there was also the aspect that by learning the ideas of past thinkers, I began to see the connection between myself, living in this present age, and society. Whether it's through academics, sports, or anything else, I want you to follow your interests and curiosities and pursue them to the fullest.

(Interview conducted in December 2017)