A Comprehensive Study of Evolutionary and Degenerate Paradigm Representations in Meiji and Taisho Period Literature

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K00314
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 02010:Japanese literature-related
• Research Institution: Waseda University
• Principal Investigator: Ishihara Chiaki 早稲田大学, 教育・総合科学学術院, 教授 (00159758)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 進化論 / 退化論 / 物語的主人公 / 小説的主人公 / 速さ / 象徴界 / 視線恐怖症 / 資本主義

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Evolutionary theory could have been dubbed "the theory of change" simply for its own sake, but by adopting the name "evolutionary theory," it assumed a political connotation. An extreme manifestation of this is seen in the theory of social evolution, and the theory of degeneracy emerging as a reaction to it. On the contrary, the theory of evolution became intertwined with the economy, particularly through capitalism, where novelty was often equated with goodness with minimal prerequisites. Within the capitalist framework, the imperative was to transport "as many things as possible, as far as possible, and as fast as possible."The archetypal protagonist for a novel is the mobile "narrative protagonist," yet in works of Soseki literature, for instance, numerous "novel protagonists" remain static. The protagonist in Soseki's literature is characterized by a fear of speed. Sensitivity to speed can be interpreted as a representation of both evolutionary and degenerative theories.

Free Research Field

日本近代文学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

漱石文学の登場人物は「速度」を恐れている。これは思想ではなく、感性の表象である。近代は「できるだけ多くのモノを、できるだけ遠くに、できるだけ早く運ぶこと」を目標にしてきた。現代はこれに「情報」が加わり、ポスト現代はこれにさらに感染症が加わるのだろうか。私たちはまさに感染症によって退化論的存在であることを強いられている。速度を恐れるのはノルダウのいう「疲労」に相当する。退化論的人物である『明暗』の津田由雄はポスト現代を生きる人間かもしれない。津田は単なる俗物ではなく「新しい人間」である。文化の中に散乱している退化論の表象を意味づけて、進化の裏側にある退化の側からポスト現代の姿を明らかにした。