World Philosophies

Nisokuhokō no tetsugakusha-tachi [Bipedal Philosophers]. Tokyo: University of Tokyo, 2020. 65 pages.
This small book is based on an interview and dialogue with Nakajima Takahiro which was conducted in Japanese on December 19, 2019 at the East Asian Academy for New Liberal Arts of the University of Tokyo. The volume also includes a foreword by Prof. Nakajima and an afterword by each of us. The interview/dialogue begins with a discussion of my education and research, and then addresses a number of related topics in Continental, Japanese, and cross-cultural philosophy. Specific topics discussed include Heidegger's turn from the will to Gelassenheit, related issues in the Christian mysticism of Meister Eckhart and the Zen philosophy of Nishitani Keiji, the philosophical import of translation and cross-cultural experience, the problem of Eurocentrism and “Euromonopolism” in the field of philosophy, and the meaning of the terms “philosophy,” “comparative philosophy,” and “world philosophy.”

あとがき

中島さんは上手い。話を引き出すのが上手い。高校時代の質問から始まり、徐々に大学、大学院での経験、そして博論から現在までの研究内容について、といつの間にか話が進んでいきました。知らないうちにすっかりリラックスしていて、個人的な話を混ぜながらあれこれと色々な哲学問題についてペラペラ喋りすぎてしまっていた次第です。自由に、大胆に、ときには偉そうに…。対談記録を読んだとき、「そんなことも言ってしまっていたのか！」と所々に反省しました。
正直にいうと、今でもこの記録が活字になることに対してはちょっと違和感があります。活字になる論文や本はいつもじっくり執筆し、何度も書き直します。学会での発表も、たいていは推敲を重ねた原稿を読み上げます。しかし対談録は違う。生き生きとした、禅の言葉を借りていえば、「活溌溌地（かっぱっぱっち）」に動いていた対話の記録なので、対談録の「活字」は文字通り「活きている字」にならなければならないと思います。もちろん記録は多少修正させて頂きました。「てにをは」を直したり、表現を改めたり、不必要な繰り返しを削ったり、補足したりしました。しかし、大胆な断言や自慢げな苦労話は敢えて残しました。論文ではなく対談録なので。他人の対談録を読むのは好きなので、今回は自分の番だと覚悟し、この生々しい対談録を出していただくことにした次第です。
インタビューではなく対談です。最後のほうで語っているように、中島さんとわたしの問題意識にはかなり重なっている所が多く、本当に面白い会話をすることができました。ハイデガーとエックハルト、西谷と禅、意志とそれを「放下」すること、無為と自然、「神の手前」と人格、普遍者と普遍性の区別、翻訳の難しさとその重要さ、日本哲学、哲学の定義および「西洋独占的な哲学理解」など、本当に盛りだくさんの興味深いテーマについて活発な話ができたと思います。
特に意見が一致したのは、「世界哲学」の現代的な意義についてでした。また、世界哲学に参加し、それを発展させるために特に必要となるのは、問題意識が不十分で東西の諸哲学をただ並べ比べるだけに終わりがちな「比較哲学者たち」ではなく、二つ以上の哲学伝統とそれらの文化的・言語的背景に長年をかけて親しくなり、それらの成果と洞察、長所と短所、見抜いたことと見過ごしたことを批判的にも共感的にも考察しながら現代の哲学問題に取り組むことのできる、「二本の足で歩く哲学者たち」だということでした。あるいは中島さんのように三本か四本の足で。要するに、このグローバル化の時代の哲学者たちは、言語をもつ動物とポリス的動物であるだけでなく、諸言語をこなす動物、コスモポリタン的動物、つまり少なくとも「二足歩行動物」とならなければならないのです。
「比較哲学」の代わりに「世界哲学」という表現がふさわしいかどうかは、中島さんがおっしゃったように、これから議論されるべきひとつの問いです。そもそも「世界哲学」をどう理解・定義付けするのかが重要になります。この対談の一年前に、中島さんが主催した「世界哲学としてのアジア思想」と題した国際シンポジウムに参加させていただきました。そのときわたしは、「世界哲学のなかの日本哲学」という発表をし、その原稿は東京大学のヒューマニティーズセンターのブックレットに載せていただいています。また、その原稿の長い版は「日本哲学とは何か――その定義と範囲を再考する試み」という題名で、京都大学の紀要『日本哲学史研究』第十六号に掲載されています。その発表と論文でわたしは、「日本哲学」の定義とともに「世界哲学」の定義についても考察しています。いくつかの不十分あるいは問題のある定義を批判した後、次の結論に辿りつきました。

「「世界哲学」を、ある哲学の立場でもなければ、ある伝統・文化・言語によって限定される分野でもない、むしろ諸伝統・文化・言語を出発点とする諸哲学が互いに出会い、対話を行う「場所」である、と理解する。「世界哲学」は「多元的な哲学対話の場所」であり、しかもその場所は予め特定の伝統・文化・言語によって規定されたものではなく、対話自身によって対話の場所が形成されてゆくのである。
　日本哲学は、その対話において、また、その対話への貢献として行われるべきである、と私は考えている。ならば、「日本哲学」とは、「（主に）日本における哲学の部分集合」であると同時に、より重要な意味では、対話の場所としての「世界哲学」における、日本の伝統・文化・言語を主に出発点とする学問である、といっても良いのではないだろうか。」

その「世界哲学のなかの日本哲学」に参加する「二足歩行の哲学者たち」が担うひとつの重要な役割は、「哲学」そのものの定義――その方法論と目的論を含める――についての議論に貢献することだとわたしは思います。対談の最後に、ホワイトボードに何かメッセージを書くように突然頼まれたとき、わたしは――頭の中は目の前の白板のように真っ白だったのですが――「哲学を「哲学」をもって考えなおす」、とちょっと意味不明なことを書きました。半年後の今、その写真を見て自分が書いたことの意味がやっとわかったような気がします。その場でそのメッセージを引き出した中島さんは、やっぱり上手い。

Temos uma novidade no Brasil sobre Filosofia Antiga e Estudos Chineses. Após mais de 20 anos de publicação da tradução brasileira de O pensamento chinês de Marcel Granet (1997) e mais de 10 anos do lançamento em português de História do pensamento chinês de Anne Cheng (2008), em 2018 a editora Vozes atualizou o campo editorial brasileiro com mais uma tradução de um manual sobre a filosofia chinesa antiga. Trata-se do livro Introdução à Filosofia Chinesa Clássica, publicado originalmente em inglês no ano de 2011 por Bryan W. Van Norden, um reconhecido filósofo e sinólogo do mundo anglófono. Começamos essa resenha com uma abordagem que foi também bastante utilizada por Van Norden, a comparativa, para evidenciar suas novidades e contribuições, depois descrevemos a estrutura e capítulos da obra.

The History of Indian Philosophy is a comprehensive and authoritative examination of the movements and thinkers that have shaped Indian philosophy over the last three thousand years. An outstanding team of international contributors provides fifty-eight accessible chapters, organized into three clear parts:
* knowledge, context, concepts
* philosophical traditions
* engaging and encounters: modern and postmodern.
　
This outstanding collection is essential reading for students of Indian philosophy. It will also be of interest to those seeking to explore the lasting significance of this rich and complex philosophical tradition, and to philosophers who wish to learn about Indian philosophy through a comparative lens. 'This book is an outstanding achievement of scholarship, breadth of representation, historical nuance, and wide accessibility. The volume contains key articles across a range of areas in mind, knowledge, and reality. This book will be an important resource for both specialists and generalists of Indian philosophy as well as those in Western philosophy seeking to gain an understanding of the vast traditions and complex arguments that make up Indian philosophy.'
Anand Vaidya, San Jose State University, USA

'This meticulously crafted volume, exhaustive in its historical reach and judicious in its choice of topics, promises to become an indispensable resource for both scholars and students of the Indian philosophical tradition.'
Saranindranath Tagore (of the Tagore family of scholar-visionaries), National University of Singapore, Singapore
Indian Philosophy
Eastern Philosophy
History of Philosophy

World philosophies are gradually gaining in recognition. Today, philosophers in Southeast Asia can freely construct their regional philosophies without philosophical tyranny of the West. However, this situation has not come so easily. Many Asian and African philosophies have experienced a struggle for acceptance. And even this recognition is limited by selectivity and philosophical fashion centered in Western academia and perpetuated by Western educated eastern intellectuals. This paper attempts to show how regional philosophy in general and Southeast Asian philosophy in particular can be constructed and accepted. These regional self-constructed philosophies can serve to correct the legacy of the racism and bigotry of the tradition. And the paper also promotes the idea of establishing a philosophical umbrella called ‘Southeast Asian philosophy’ under which regional philosophies can develop and thrive.

ABSTRACT: In the history of knowledge, there have been two "Knowledge Explosions." The first one appeared in Greece during the sixth century BCE, while the second began in Europe four or five centuries ago. But it is important to find out what is mystical about the Greek genius that their unique explosion of knowledge helped trigger a second explosion of knowledge known as the European Renaissance. In order to ascertain why it is the Greek-genius or what was special about these people, I would discuss here four out many important factors responsible in developing the intellectualism of great Greek philosophers. Firstly, it is the uniqueness of Greek mythology, secondly the geographical location of Greece, thirdly their ontology of being experts about being, and fourthly their history of fruitful conflicts.
Though Greek civilization, even today is considered a cradle of Western Civilization, but ironically the Greeks themselves, have not been its beneficiary. The only hope was Aristotle's pupil Alexander the Great whose demise at the young age of thirty-two can be marked as a Greek Tragedy. But in fact it is not. Alexander the Great has loomed over history as an enigmatic legend. He, even today, emerges as a charismatic and surprisingly modern figure―neither a messiah nor a genocidal butcher but one of the most imaginative and daring military tacticians of all time. ... However, there are many reasons for the Greeks to have not benefitted themselves from the light of knowledge which was on its peak for almost a millennium. ... Two things had ruined their political system: first, the claim of each city to absolute sovereignty; second, the bitter and bloody strife between rich and poor with most cities. Above all, the Greeks made serious errors, not only about nature but also about human nature. Some of these errors had disastrous consequences, up until our day. It is also a fact that the second explosion of knowledge which began during the European Renaissance, modern man has also made serious mistakes, similar to those the Greeks made, which may ultimately lead to a major disaster for the human race as a whole. ... ... Mirza Ashraf

World philosophies are gradually gaining in recognition. Today, philosophers in Southeast Asia can freely construct their regional philosophies without philosophical tyranny of the West. However, this situation has not come so easily. Many Asian and African philosophies have experienced a struggle for acceptance. And even this recognition is limited by selectivity and philosophical fashion centered in Western academia and perpetuated by Western educated eastern intellectuals. This paper attempts to show how regional philosophy in general and Southeast Asian philosophy in particular can be constructed and accepted. These regional self-constructed philosophies can serve to correct the legacy of the racism and bigotry of the tradition. And the paper also promotes the idea of establishing a philosophical umbrella called 'Southeast Asian philosophy' under which regional philosophies can develop and thrive.

The following review explores Intercultural Information Ethics (IIE) in terms of comparative philosophy, supporting IIE as the most relevant and significant development of the field of Information Ethics (IE). The focus of the review is threefold. First, it will review the core presumption of the field of IIE, that being the demand for an inter- mission in the pursuit of a founding philosophy for IE in order to first address the philosophical biases of IE by western philosophy. Second, a history of the various philosophical streams of IIE will be outlined, including its literature and pioneering contributors. Lastly, a new synthesis of comparative philosophies in IIE will be offered, looking towards a future evolution of the field. Examining the interchange between contemporary information ethicists regarding the discipline of IIE, the review first outlines the previously established presumptions of the field of IIE that posit the need for an IE as grounded in western sensibilities. The author then addresses the implications of the foregoing presumption from several non-western viewpoints, arguing that IIE does in fact find roots in non-western philosophies as established in the concluding synthesis of western and eastern philosophical traditions.

Philosophy of Science and the Kyoto School introduces a major Japanese philosophical movement through the interests and arguments of its founder, Nishida Kitarō (1870-1945), his successor, Tanabe Hajime (1885-1962), and student-turned-critic, Tosaka Jun (1900-1945). Focusing on their contributions to thinking about place, space, and dialectics, this concise introduction brings these influential thinkers to life by connecting their work to issues still debated in the philosophy of science and physics today. 

Beginning with an overview of the reception of quantum physics and relativity theory in Japan and concluding with an account of the direct relevance of the Kyoto School to the development of world philosophy in a posthuman age, each clearly-written chapter engages historical contexts and includes:
· Carefully-chosen excerpts and original translations of Nishida, Tanabe, and Tosaka
· Focus boxes explaining complex concepts and problems of contextualization
· Glossaries for each chapter
· Further Readings lists featuring relevant and significant articles and books in English

This introduction is an ideal starting point for students and lecturers looking to become better acquainted with three central Japanese philosophers and learn why their work impacts our current thinking about science.

Table of Contents: 
1. Introduction: Relativity and quantum physics in the Kyoto School
2. Nishida Philosophy, place, field, and quantum phenomena
3. Mediation in Tanabe’s dialectical vision of competing fields within physics
4. Modern physics and ideology in Tosaka Jun
5. What we can learn from the Kyoto School

Notes
Timeline of Kyoto School Activities in Relation to Physics
Glossary
Further Reading
Index

Link to Bloomsbury website:
https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/philosophy-of-science-and-the-kyoto-school-9781350141100/

WHEN the ARTICLE ‘If Philosophy Won’t Diversify’ by J. L. Garfield and B. W. Van Norden appeared in The New York Times (May 11, 2016), some friends urged me to write a rejoinder. And so I did, while in the midst of marking essays and exam scripts. I sent the piece I am ‘publishing’ here below to the Editors of The Stone - the well-known philosophical column in the NYT - but, alas, it was rejected: “I'm afraid we can't use your essay”, was the reply. I guess I must postpone my ‘moment of glory’ to be published in a BIG newspaper, and so be it...

Martin Heidegger’s lecture in 1964 The End of Philosophy and the Task of Thinking signalled a crisis and the acknowledgement of substantial changes within Western philosophy. Reflecting upon the concept of critical dialogue among World Philosophies (WP) can be seen
as a corrective of this crisis and a novel advancement. I aim to substantiate this by referring to the work of three authors: i) Jean-Luc Marion’s reflections on Heidegger will give us the chance to overcome a narrow understanding of ›philosophy‹ and the possibility of discovering »new horizons« for the discipline which are revealed as a »donation« towards »wisdom«; ii) Reyes Mate’s considerations on ›Thinking in Spanish‹ will offer, aided by Walter Benjamin, a concrete example for renegotiating the space and the place for those »excluded from thinking«; and iii) Paul Ricoeur’s meditation On Translation puts forward the ethical element of »linguistic hospitality« and transformation of the self when encountering alterity. While it is impossible to do justice to these authors in a short article, I maintain that their work deserves close attention because it depicts the struggle within Western philosophy on its way towards maturity: still entangled with so many challenges derived from its troubled history, this maturity appears only faintly, on the horizon, precisely, in theform of ›traces‹.
On these grounds, I believe that Anglo-European philosophy can no longer postpone opening up to an indispensable dialogue with other systems of thought wherein the presence of WP and the renewed effort of many philosophers committed to this endeavour is recognised.

Keywords
World Philosophies, gift/donation, wisdom, ‘the voice of the slave’, ‘monadological universality’, translation, linguistic hospitality.

Open Access: https://doi.org/10.18442/hpgp-i-1
This bibliographical guide gives a comprehensive overview of the historiography of philosophy and thought in the Japanese language through an extensive and thematically organized collection of relevant literature. Comprising over one thousand entries, the bibliography shows not only how extensive and complex the Japanese tradition of philosophical and intellectual historiography is, but also how it might be structured and analyzed to make it accessible to a comparative and intercultural approach to the historiography of philosophy worldwide. The literature is categorized and organized according to thematic focus areas such as geographical regions and continents, nations or peoples, religious traditions and philosophical teachings such as Buddhism, Islam, Shintō, and Confucianism, as well as disciplines such as ethics, aesthetics, and political thought. The bibliography is accompanied by an introduction outlining the research method as well as quantitative and qualitative approaches to analyzing the material, followed by a chronological overview of the historiography of philosophy and thought in the Japanese language and of the Japanese tradition of writing “world histories of philosophy.” As a first step towards a “history of the historiography of philosophy” in non-European languages, we hope that this guide will provide a useful tool for interculturally oriented scholarship aimed at a non-Eurocentric and diversified historiography of philosophy in a global perspective.

What is the philosophical significance of Heidegger’s interpretation of the Japanese notion of kotoba (言葉) for Japanese philosophy? Was his conversation with Tezuka Tomio a real dialogue or not? To answer to these correlated questions, I elucidate Heidegger’s 1954 essay “A Dialogue on Language” by following a topological mode of thinking, and I inquire into the way-making of a “thinking conversation”. First, I problematize whether Heidegger engaged in a genuine dialogue with Tezuka. To that end, I distinguish the hermeneutic horizon of the actual encounter between Tezuka and Heidegger from Heidegger’s essay which places Tezuka (the Japanese) and Heidegger (the Inquirer) in a fictional philosophical conversation. Second, I argue that Heidegger’s topological method of interpretating kotoba can be read as a poetic means of thematizing East-West dialogue. Third and finally, exploring the topological sense of kotoba, I engage with third generation Kyoto School thinker Ueda Shizuteru’s id...

The papers discussed at the workshop will form part of the inaugural volume for the World Philosophies Series, published by Mimesis International.  The Workshop and individual papers will address three main sets of questions intended to provide the focus for the intellectual content of the workshop and which will set the research agenda for future publications:

1. Can a given philosophical tradition - and different historical schools of thought within it - in principle, be considered open towards other traditions? What historical signs/manifestations are there of this openness/dialogue or, perhaps, of closure/hindrance towards other traditions?

2. Are there any methodological tools internal to a given tradition/school of thought which could enhance openness and dialogue towards other traditions? How can these methodologies be developed so as to be more effective? Given the relevance of both ‘religion’ and ‘culture’ in the formation of philosophical traditions/schools of thought, and the clear connection between ‘philosophy, culture and religion’, what contribution have both ‘religion’ and ‘culture’ provided to either the openness or hindrance of them? [The use of local/specific terminology might be appropriate here, for the translation of ‘religion’ and ‘culture’].

3. Notwithstanding the existential differences within and between traditions and the conflictual power derived from social, historical and political tensions operating in these spheres, can different philosophical traditions build upon their own practices of collective philosophising and mutual philosophical understanding?  Could these practices be said to be following patterns of a “shared philosophical methodology”?

This paper analyzes the relationship between equals as a basic element of
intercultural philosophy, putting it into a perspective which tries to valorize not
only the two (or more) elements included in a relationship, but also highlight the
importance of the concept itself, following Giangiorgio Pasqualotto’s concept of
relationship with three interdependent variables.

The tenth volume of the Frontiers of Japanese Philosophy focuses on the theme of “transition,” dealing with transitory and intermediary phenomena and practices such as translation, transmission, and transformation. Written in English, German and Japanese, the contributions explore a wide range of topics, crossing disciplinary borders between phenomenology, linguistics, feminism, epistemology, aesthetics, political history, martial arts, spiritual practice and anthropology, and bringing Japanese philosophy into cross-cultural dialogue with other philosophical traditions. As exercises in “thinking in transition,” the essays reveal novel modes of doing philosophy as a way of boundary crossing that takes transition not only as an object of inquiry, but also as a method of philosophical practice itself.

ANNOTATION, rather: How can one imagine a graduate student association being legally and practically constituted? That is, "constitution" as a legal document and as a state/process. Imagining/remembering (about) the latter has helped produce an edition of the former. The equity vision is robust, even daring, with the inclusion of a touch of Indigenous (Turtle Island) governance principles and protocols. It is also thoroughly comprehensive in making a point of addressing disability, including by explicitly proposing Accommodations for Running Candidates in Executive Elections.
A bit too cumbersomely wordy -- which is likely quite avoidable.
To consider: splitting into "constitution" as a philosophical-strategic vision and "bylaw" or "policy/ies" as protocols guiding day-to-day applications.

Announcement of the CFP for the Second Conference of the European Network for Japanese Philosophy will be held in Brussels in honor of the 150th anniversary of the inauguration of diplomatic relations between Belgium and Japan. For further information, please visit our website: http://enojp.org

Thomas P. Kasulis. Engaging Japanese Philosophy: A Short History. Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press, 2018, pp. 784, hardcover USD 76, paperback USD 36. ISBN 978-0-8248-6979-3. This review examines the main topics and the main thesis of Thomas Kasulis's Engaging Japanese Philosophy. The book covers the entire fourteen-hundred-year history of philosophical thinking in Japan, with a focus on seven key Buddhist, Confucian, Native Studies, and modern academic philosophers. The author's main thesis is that Japanese philosophers have predominantly aimed at an existentially "engaged knowing" rather than the kind of objectively "detached knowing" that has come to dominate modern western and-by colonial extension-most of modern Japanese academic philosophy.