Translation and Institutions in East Asia : On Philosophy

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K21943
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0101:Philosophy, art, and related fields
• Research Institution: Ritsumeikan University
• Principal Investigator: HEO Jihyang 立命館大学, 衣笠総合研究機構, 助教 (60876100)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-09-11 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 西周 / 京城帝国大学 / 安倍能成

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aimed to analyze from the perspective of "Imperialism and Colonialism" what the "Humanization" of Western philosophy and the "scholarship" of Western philosophy brought to the "inner land(内地)" and "outer land(外地)" worlds, respectively, and what the differences were from previous history. Previous studies have revealed the translation of Philosophy by AMANE Nishi(西周, 1829-1897), and the personalities and courses surrounding the Department of Philosophy at the University of Tokyo, but these studies have discussed in detail the circumstances after the establishment of philosophy and the Department of Philosophy. In this study, based on historical documents about the situation before the translation and the formation of the department for each, I argued that the translation and the institution were not contained in a "great achievement" or a "modern project" but in a historical coincidence and a whole.

Free Research Field

人文学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、翻訳と近代以後の諸制度に関する一国史的説明を止揚する目的で、「近代」がもたらした翻訳と制度の具体的な様子を一時史料に基づいて論証することを目指した。特に日本で行われた翻訳と制度が日本の近代化と啓蒙化のみならず、それと同時に、朝鮮半島においては植民地化をもたらしたことを常に意識した。普通、翻訳や学制は、何かの編纂、何かの生成というプラス的な側面で説明されがちである。本研究では、それらの負の遺産について、制度の突発性(本研究者の東京大学の前史調査)や、帝国知識人の世俗性(安倍能成に関する本研究)を批判的に指摘してきた。