Tetsugaku Companion to Watsuji Tetsuro

This book offers a comprehensive overview of the philosophy of Watsuji Tetsuro (1889-1960). Watsuji was one of the leading figures in modern Japanese philosophy and is increasingly being recognized internationally. Within Watsuji's oeuvre, this book focuses on "Ningen no gaku toshite no rinrigaku" (1934), "Fudo" (1935), and "Rinrigaku"(1937-1949) as well as on other related texts. This text is comprised of three parts and fifteen chapters. Each chapter is written by an accomplished scholar. The readers are introduced to the key concepts of Watsuji's thought: fuudo, ningen/aidagara, rinri, sonzai, and ku followed by critical appropriations of Heidegger, Kant, and Hegel. Watsuji is then situated within the broader context of the Kyoto school philosophy. Watsuji's relevance is explored over a variety of topics within and outside of philosophy such as nature, ethics, transcultural philosophy, the history of ideas, education, and environmental politics. The appendix gives the reader a sample of Watsuji’s elegant style by offering a new translation of "The fundamental theory of fudo." This text arguably comprises Watsuji's philosophy in a nutshell and is meant to complement the preceding chapters. This book appeals to teachers, researchers and graduate students.