---

On February 24, 2026, the Global Network Seminar was held, and the seminar welcomed Professor Diego Lazzarich from the University of Naples "L'Orientale" as the guest speaker. Professor Lazzarich delivered a lecture on the concept of gratitude in the history of Western thought, examining how its meaning and role have evolved through the ideas of major philosophers and political thinkers.

The lecture began by introducing the perspectives of ancient thinkers such as Seneca and Cicero, for whom gratitude was regarded as an essential moral virtue that fostered social bonds and contributed to the stability of society. Professor Lazzarich then traced the development of the concept through the works of modern thinkers, including Thomas Hobbes and Immanuel Kant, explaining how the growing emphasis on individual freedom and rights transformed the role of gratitude in social and political thought.

The lecture also explored the dual nature of gratitude. While gratitude can strengthen interpersonal relationships and mutual reciprocity, it may also create unequal power relations between those who give and those who receive. Professor Lazzarich encouraged participants to consider how the Western understanding of gratitude compares with perspectives rooted in their own cultural traditions, providing a framework for reflecting on the different meanings and functions of gratitude across cultures and societies.

The seminar provided participants with a valuable opportunity to reconsider the development of Western political thought through the familiar concept of gratitude. It also deepened participants' understanding of the relationships among gratitude, social bonds, morality, freedom, and individual rights from both historical and intercultural perspectives.