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Japan/Philosophy Help

Japan/Philosophy Help

Chikatsu
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Posted 05/08/08 - 01:59 AM: Subject: Japan/Philosophy Help	#1
Hello, there wasn't a specific section for people who need help so I decided to post this here. Basically, I'm currently studying IB at college and need to decide on an essay title for my extended essay. I'd like to do it on Philosophy. However, as I hope to study Oriental Studies at uni (Japanese studies), I'd like the essay to be related to Japan in some way or have an aspect of it related to Japan at least. I don't know any Japanese philosophers or know how to go about incorporating Japan into a philosophy essay so if anyone knows anything about philosophy in Japan or has any ideas or suggestions on what a good essay title would be, I'd appreciate any help/ ideas/ suggestions. Edited by hyena in petticoat on 05/08/08 - 06:25 PM. Reason: Capitalization.

Gramm
Olde Worlde Skeptic

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Posted 05/08/08 - 03:45 AM:	#2
May I suggest you look at the poetic work of Matsuo Basho It carries great Philosophical, Religious & Metaphysical significance.. Gramm of Olde.
_____________________ Light is not diminished by being shared. Desiderata

jdrw
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Posted 05/08/08 - 10:41 AM:	#3
Perhaps you could write an essay about something that you actually know something about instead of writing an essay about something that you don't know anything about? What do you imagine you'd be able to contribute in an essay about something that you don't know anything about? Cheers. jd
_____________________ OTOH I might be exhaustively wrong about everything I've ever thought--with the possible exception of this sentence.

Erik
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Posted 05/08/08 - 07:22 PM:	#4
Hmm, I would probably write an essay on the cross-fertilization that's taken place between specific Western [Continental] and Japanese thinkers in the 20th century. I know that Nietzsche and Heidegger have been very influential in Japan - specifically amongst adherents of the Kyoto School - while the latter, in turn, was certainly influenced by various elements of Zen Buddhism in his later years.The later philosophy of Heidegger bears a striking resemblance, at least on the surface, to the thoughts of Hui Neng and the Soto School of Zen Buddhism which he spawned. As jdrw noted, however, this would be a very difficult topic - especially if you don't have at least a rudimentary grasp of the thought of Nietzsche and/or Heidegger [or even someone else maybe], as well as a basic understanding of the various strands of Zen Buddhism. To write about something you already know about would definitely be the safe bet, but taking the opportunity to challenge yourself and expand your knowledge instead of taking the easy road is commendable. Another interesting topic would be, perhaps, to compare and contrast the two main schools of Zen in Japan, i.e. Rinzai and the aforementioned Soto, with what could be considered their Western counterparts. Rinzai apparently has some parallels with Neo-Platonism [yes, I know this is an antiquated philosophical school which doesn't garner much, if any, respect nowadays] while Soto, once again, is similar to the more deconstructive, post-metaphysical trends in the West. Anyhow, D.T. Suzuki and Keiji Nishitani are two Japanese thinkers that I'm somewhat familiar with, so you may want to do some research on them and see where this leads you. I'd be interested to see the results of whatever you come up with.
_____________________ An enemy is someone whose story you haven't heard - source unknown

enkidu
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Posted 05/09/08 - 01:50 PM:	#5
Here is a thread that talked of japanese philosophy and may help you in getting some references about japanese 20th century thinkers: http://forums.philosophyforums.com/threads/buddhi... If you decide to write your essay on an older period, the way Japan integrated chinese learning (buddhism, daoism and confucianism) and modified it, especially during the Tokugawa period (with thinkers such as Takuan, Suzuki Shozan or Hakuin) is also very interesting. Edited by enkidu on 05/09/08 - 03:36 PM
_____________________ "The difficulty in philosophy is to say no more than we know." L. Wittgenstein - The Blue Book "Only a Sith Lord deals in absolutes" - you know who

alliop
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Posted 05/09/08 - 03:17 PM:	#6
Chikatsu wrote: Hello, there wasn't a specific section for people who need help so I decided to post this here. Basically, I'm currently studying IB at college and need to decide on an essay title for my extended essay. I'd like to do it on Philosophy. However, as I hope to study Oriental Studies at uni (Japanese studies), I'd like the essay to be related to Japan in some way or have an aspect of it related to Japan at least. I don't know any Japanese philosophers or know how to go about incorporating Japan into a philosophy essay so if anyone knows anything about philosophy in Japan or has any ideas or suggestions on what a good essay title would be, I'd appreciate any help/ ideas/ suggestions. Don't oriental studies cover more than just Japan?

Chikatsu
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Posted 05/12/08 - 11:52 AM:	#7
Thanks for all your suggestions and ideas! I know quite a lot about Japanese History but not so much about Japanese Philosophy. In the end, i've decided to do it on Moral Relativism - looking at suicide/harakiri/kamikaze and other aspects and traditions of Japanese culture which are different to our views in the west. Also, when you do Oriental Studies you tend to study and focus on just one country. In my case, i want to do Japanese Studies.

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