Do Not Have an Encounter in Vain

The Ethics ofʻChance Encounterʼin Kuki Shuzo

Abstract

ʻEncounterʼhas been a major topic in philosophy and philosophy of education. It has been often characterized by the concept of ʻcontingency.ʼ However,if an encounter is a hard experience such as disease and handicap, how can or should we accept that? In these cases, we will ask ourselves, ʻWhyme?ʼ This question isabout theverycontingencyofencounter. Ifit is the responsibility of educators to help people accept a contingent encounter, we should ask the question,ʻWhy?ʼ In this paper, therefore, we study the philosophy of Kuki Shuzo. He continuously asked the very question, ʻWhy?ʼthat is, ʻWhat is contingency?ʼ His conclusion was the commandment, ʻDo not have an encounter in vain.ʼ What commandment is this? What logic is this commandment based on? We consider about these questions especiallythrough the core ofhis philosophy, the logic of the ʻMetaphysical Absoluteʼcharacterized as ʻNecessity-Contingency.ʼ According to Kuki,necessityand contingencies,that is,whole and parts,or the Absolute and the finite,are two faces oftheʻMetaphysical Absolute,ʼand these are connected by the movement of negation. Consequently,contingenciespotentiallycontainthetelos,andweshouldactualizeit. When we have done that, we have not had an encounter in vain. Thus, following the commandment, ʻDo not have an encounter in vain,ʼwe can accept various chance encounters as a moment of self-actualization even if these are apparentlymeaningless and purposeless.