Development of the Science-Technology Studies in the Wartime Japan

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25884022
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: History of thought
• Research Institution: Hokkaido University (2014); Tokyo Institute of Technology (2013)
• Principal Investigator: KANAYAMA Koji 北海道大学, スラブ・ユーラシア研究センター, 非常勤研究員 (90713181)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-08-30 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 技術哲学 / 唯物論 / 転向 / 相川春喜

Outline of Final Research Achievements

How did Japanese intellectuals define technology in the period of the promotion of science (circa 1940) and how did these definitions relate to the government policy of the militarist Japan? In this project, by studying theoretical works of AIKAWA Haruki, one of the most prominent figures in technology studies, I proved that Aikawa abandoned his previous materialistic view on technology and came up with the more balanced definition of it. In the 1940s Aikawa saw technology as an medium of the objectivity and subjectivity in the process of the practical production. This definition was necessary for making technology studies more practical one.

Free Research Field

科学技術史