Philosophical Thinking and Japanese Traditions

NAKAOKA Narifumi, et. al.(Graduate School of Letters)

Objective
   The purpose of these lectures is to make clear various aspects of Japanese thoughts from the past to the present. The course will start from several origins of the ideas in Japan, then focusing on the thoughts of modern philosophers, some of which have been involved in disputes about their political effects and implications. The concluding hours will be spent on contemporary thinking in people's life and the philosophical scene.

Lecture outline:(subject to change)
   Week 1(April 12.) Orientation (NAKAOKA Narifumi)
   Week 2 (April 19.) Who is Kojin Karatani? (FUNABA Yasuyuki)
   Week 3(April 26.) Namba or a Lost Art of Walk (UENO Osamu)
   Week 4(May 10.) Daisuke Suzuki�fs Perception of Japanese Thoughts (IRIE Yukio)
   Week 5(May 17.) Philosophy of Bushido (SUTO Norihide)
   Week 6(May 24.) Osamu Kuno and philosophy of civic movement (MOCHIZUKI Taro)
   Week 7(May 31.) Scientific Thought in Modern Japan �iNAKAMURA Masaki�j
   Week 8(June 7.) The Kyoto School of Philosophy and the crisis of modernity (NAKAOKA Narifumi)
   Week 9(June 14.) As-yet-untitled (HAMAUZU Shinji)
   Week 10(June 21.) Dialogue and Philosophy in Japanese School Education (HOMMA Naoki)
   Week 11(June 28.) Intellectual history of the Kaitokudo (Merchant Academy in Osaka) (YUASA Kunihiro)
   Week 12 (July 5.) The thought of MIURA BAIEN (SHIN Hyeon)
   Week 13(July 12.) Indian origin of Japanese religious traditions (ENOMOTO Fumio)
   Week 14(July 19.) Iranian culture traveling to Japan in ancient times (DOYAMA Eijiro)
   Week 15(July 26.) Summary (IRIE Yukio)

Text Book
   None particular

Selected Readings
   Visions of Virtue in Tokugawa Japan: The Kaitokudo Merchant Academy of Osaka, Tetsuo Najita (1998/3)
   http://www.let.osaka-u.ac.jp/kaitokudo/en/index.html

Grading
   Class participation 50%
   Term paper to be submitted at the end of the course 50%
   (Term paper should be connected to two of the 13 themes of the course.)