William Sweet

Headshot of Dr. William Sweet

William Sweet

Chair
Department
Campus Location
Nicholson Tower Rm 708
Email
Phone
(902) 867-2341
Biography

Dr. William Sweet's principal areas of scholarly and teaching interest include intercultural philosophy, human rights and the philosophy of law, biomedical ethics, the epistemology of religion, and late 19th and early 20th century Anglo-American and French Philosophy. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and of the Royal Historical Society, and a Permanent member of the Institut international de Philosophie (Paris).

He holds doctoral-level degrees in philosophy (PhD), systematic theology (DTh), political science (DEA), and philosophical theology (DPhil). He has studied at (among other places) the Universities of Paris, Ottawa, Saint Paul, South Africa, Manitoba, Carleton, Vienna, and Berlin.  He has been a visiting professor in Beijing, Taipei, Lublin (Poland), Bangalore (India), Canberra (Australia), and Louvain-la-neuve (Belgium), was the Visiting Professor (Overseas) of the ICPR, and has lectured in over 50 countries. He is President of the World Union of Catholic Philosophical Societies and Editor of the journals Maritain Studies/Etudes maritainiennes and Philosophy, Culture and Traditions. Among his recent books are: Before and After Democracy: Philosophy, Religion, and Politics (2023), Philosophy Re-engaging Cultures and Ways of Life (2022), and Care of Self and Meaning of Life (2016; ed. with Cristal Huang), and he is completing a book on British Idealism and South Africa. He was among the drafters of the Barletta Declaration in 2024 https://people.stfx.ca/ptct/G7Statement.pdf

Fields of expertise: Intercultural Philosophy, Bio-Medical Ethics, Political and Legal Philosophy, Philosophical Theology, 19th and 20th Century Anglo-American Philosophy (British idealism).

Webpage: https://people.stfx.ca/wsweet/wsweet.html