Alexandra Mustatea – Confucianism and Modernity in the Early Postwar Period – Watsuji's 日本倫理思想史
Channel: European Network of Japanese Philosophy
Date: 2022-06-26

Alexandra Mustatea – Thinking about Confucianism and Modernity in the Early Postwar Period. Watsuji Tetsurō’s 'The History of Ethical Thought in Japan'

Part of the Panel: "Watsuji and the Environment"

Talk at the  6th Annual Conference of the European Network of Japanese Philosophy "(Counter)influences."

Abstract:
This paper will discuss Watsuji Tetsurō’s ‘History of Ethical Thought in Japan’ (日本倫理思想史), in an attempt to explore the postwar intellectual mood surrounding the Confucianism-modernity debate in Japan. Also, by approaching Watsuji’s view on this issue within the broader context of his philosophical system, the paper will offer further insights relevant to the interpretation of his far more influential work, ‘Rinrigaku.’ Watsuji published his ‘History of Ethical Thought in Japan’ at around the same time as Maruyama Masao was publishing his ‘Studies in the Intellectual History of Tokugawa Japan,’ yet history has treated the two philosophers’ work very differently. Maruyama’s ‘Studies’ has been, for the past decades, the touchstone of Japanese Confucian studies, with many contemporary authors incessantly echoing his views on Confucianism’s philosophical ‘implosion’ at the end of the Edo period. On the other hand, Watsuji’s ‘History’ garnered much less attention in international research beyond a summary indictment of his cultural particularism and possible support for the prewar militaristic government (Bellah 1965). And although more recent scholarship has started to add more nuance to this perception of Watsuji’s philosophy and politics (LaFleur 2001, Maraldo 2019), discussion of his work on Confucianism – as well as the Confucian influence on his own ethical philosophy – is still conspicuously absent. Therefore, this paper will focus on the few chapters in Watsuji’s ‘History’ which cover the crux of the Confucianism-modernity debate – the Edo and Meiji periods –, as well as his ‘Preface,’ which provides the theoretical framework of his endeavour. By discussing these fragments, I will explore two essential aspects of Watsuji’s ‘History:’ on the one hand, his take on Confucianism and modernity as an alternative to his contemporary’s, Maruyama; and on the other hand, the theoretical framework that positions ‘History’ at the core of Watsuji’s ethical philosophy, alongside (and closely connected with) ‘Rinrigaku.’

Conference Program:
https://enojp2021.elte.hu/program

European Network of Japanese Philosophy:
http://enojp.org/

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