Abstract
Ikutaro Shimizu is a Japanese philosopher and sociologist who based his thought and actions on “experience”. In order to truly understand the life and works of Ikutaro Shimizu, it is vital to grasp what he exactly meant by the word “experience”.
This article concerns Shimizu's experiences in the early part of his life, including his time at age sixteen when he aspired to be a sociologist, and his early 30's, when he formed the essential parts of his unique theory on man and his environment. First I classify various personal and social events Shimizu came across during his early period to decide how these experiences affected him in forming a basis for his philosophy. Next I consider Shimizu's spiritual encounters with various philosophies of the world starting from the German “formal school” of sociology to which he was strongly attracted. However, he did not satisfy the unrealistic nature of the German “formal school” of sociology, then he took up the study of Auguste Comte and later American sociology, psychology and philosophy, while Marxism was a leading trend. I will mainly discuss the process by which Shimizu established his philosophy of “experience” by closely following his encounter with Comte's idea of mankind which he adapted into his own thinking to develop his own sociological theory on human beings.
I hope the discussion will help clarify the attitude of Ikutaro Shimizu toward life and society as a philosopher and sociologist.
