Below are the main directions of my (past, current and future) research projects:
Japanese philosophy: nature, self, ethics
Until now, I have worked mostly on the concept of Nature in premodern philosophy, with a particular focus on Andō Shōeki’s writings. I plan to expand the scope of my research by looking at works by other Edo period philosophers, but also by modern and contemporary thinkers. The enjeu is not to merely perform an anatomy of the concept of shizen / jinen (自然) in Japanese philosophy, but to better understand how it fits into the big picture, i.e. to understand its relevance for world philosophy.
At the same time, I believe we cannot discuss our view of nature without trying to understand ourselves in the process. To me, it is clear that the concept of nature is closely linked with the notion of self, so I plan to include this in my research. I have already started to work in this direction by discussing the human being in Shōeki’s philosophy as a self-with-others that ultimately becomes a self-with-everything, and I will continue my analysis by looking at other philosophers as well.
The next step will be to take a closer look at the link between nature and self, specifically at the moral intricacies of this relation. What is the ethics of the self vis-à-vis nature? What are the mechanism and principles that regulate the way in which human beings interact with, or try to take dominion over nature? And if there exists indeed a set of ethical tenets that modulate the relation between self and nature, are they applicable to other areas and fields – such as politics, society, or economy – as well? To examine these issues, I plan to start a research project focusing on ethics in premodern Japanese philosophy. Currently, I am in the early stage of the project, trying to put together a team of researchers with similar interests.
*****
Japanese philosophy as world philosophy
Overcoming dichotomies and categorizations would be immensely beneficial for world philosophy at large. When we examine issues like personhood, self or mortality, for instance, Dōgen or Shōeki might offer just as many – if not more – hints than Hegel or Heidegger.
In order to establish a place for Japanese philosophy as a full-fledged member of the society of world philosophies, one of the first tasks we have to undertake is to make it accessible to a larger audience – in other words, to translate Japanese philosophy. This is an enormous task and a long-term project, but I believe it can be done one step at a time.
*****
Life story research
Until now, I have done life story interviews with non-native Japanese language teachers and Taiwanese citizens who were raised and educated in Japanese during the colonial period. Between 2016 and 2018, I coordinated a project conducted by a research group called J-Life, and funded by the Toyota Foundation (details here) – some of the results of our research are showcased on this website. I plan to continue my research in this direction as well by taking a philosophical approach to language learning, i.e. by focusing on the relation between language and self in an attempt to explore how language is linked to the process of constructing one’s own personal identity.