Daiki Tsutsui

Uehiro Scholarship for Future Generations

Joining us from: Japan
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DPhil Philosophy (2024)

I am Daiki Tsutsui, a first-year DPhil student in Philosophy from Japan. I completed my bachelor's degree and my first master's degree at Keio University in Tokyo, followed by an MSt in Ancient Philosophy at Oxford last year. My main research focus has consistently been Aristotle's ethics, especially his conception of happiness (εὐδαιμονία). 

For my doctoral research (building on the work I began during my MSt), I examine the concept of 'beauty' or 'the fine' (τό καλόν) in Aristotle's two major ethical treatises, the Nicomachean and Eudemian Ethics.

Aristotle claims that virtuous agents perform virtuous and praiseworthy actions for the sake of τό καλόν. Yet the term τό καλόν is often used in aesthetic contexts to denote the beauty of sculptures or human appearances, for instance; this aesthetic sense is retained in the word calligraphy. This raises an important question: when Aristotle identifies τό καλόν as an essential value for virtuous agents, is he referring to aesthetic beauty, or does he instead intend some uniquely ethical notion that should be distinguished from aesthetic beauty? Another question that is very fundamental to the whole system of Aristotelian ethics concerns the relationship between τό καλόν and happiness. Is acting for the sake of τό καλόν valuable because it contributes to the attainment of happiness, which Aristotle treats as the highest human good? Or does it instead constitute a kind of value that is independent of that of happiness? 

My time at Oxford, both during the MSt and now in the DPhil, has been made possible by the exceptionally generous support of the Uehiro Foundation. When I received the acceptance letter for the DPhil last winter, I felt an enormous sense of hope at the prospect of remaining in Oxford for at least three more years, surrounded by many leading scholars and truly inspiring fellow students. At the same time, however, I grew increasingly anxious about how I would secure the necessary funding. For an international student, even the tuition fee alone is a substantial financial burden, and the rising cost of living in the UK only compounded my worries. I remember thinking that even if I could rely on my parents financially, I would not be able to focus wholeheartedly on my research; I would constantly feel concerned about the extent of the sacrifices I was asking them to make and how I could ever repay them in the future. Receiving the scholarship was therefore a profound relief and a genuine blessing. Thanks to this support, I am now able to devote myself entirely to my studies and to think more ambitiously about the academic and professional paths I hope to pursue.  

The scholarship has not only made my work possible but has also significantly enhanced its quality by freeing me from financial anxiety.