This paper examines the moral responsibility of “absent” generations who did not directly participate in past wrongs such as wartime atrocities. Drawing on Augustine’s concept of “common objects of love” and Oliver O’Donovan’s social ontology, it redefines community as a temporally extended collective agent rather than a mere aggregation of individuals. Incorporating Kendy Hess’s metaphysical notion of the “rational point of view,” the paper identifies the foundation for the continuity and agency of communities across time. This framework allows for an understanding of collective guilt not as an inherited burden but as a residual responsibility inherent in the enduring moral subjectivity of the community. By doing so, it offers a theological and philosophical basis for discussing intergenerational moral responsibility beyond the limits of individualism.

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In The Varieties of Religious Experience and other works, William James uses the logic of pragmatism to assert that religion can be objectively true. While many thinkers have pointed out that, since pragmatism involves pluralism, pragmatic religious truths can only be relativistic, James’ idea of realism recognizes the reality of objects. He did not, however, explicitly explain this pluralistic realism. Somewhat later, Hilary Putnam, inspired by the ideas of classical pragmatism, constructed his own pluralistic realism, which can be seen as a modern reconstruction of James's vision. Several studies have examined Putnam's theory in relation to James’ writings, and the outlines of the pluralistic religious realism envisaged by James have come into focus. This study argues that James takes the position that the knowledge of divine reality attained by believers through their practice, although fallible, is objective truth in the context of that practice, and that personal faith can therefore develop within the public realm.

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This paper explores Watsuji Tetsurō’s (1889–1960) understanding of religion by focusing on two of his Taishō-period works, The Revival of Idol and Pilgrimages to Ancient Temples. In the former, which was influenced by Nietzsche and Kierkegaard, Watsuji responds to the crisis of modern civilization and the ossification of Japanese culture during World War I by advocating for the “revival of idols” as a way to resuscitate spiritual life. In concrete terms, what he intended was a reappreciation of Buddhist culture, which integrates religion and art. The latter is a travelogue recording Watsuji’s impressions of Nara’s temples and Buddhist statues, but it can also be read as a practical embodiment of the ideas found in The Revival of the Idol. In Pilgrimages to Ancient Temples, it can be observed that idols serve as a bridge between self and other and become devices for recreating the symbolic meaning revealed therein, thus allowing us to understand “pilgrimage” as a spiritual enquiry in which we question the very nature of the self, which, standing before the idol, trembles in that space between religion and art, faith and beauty.

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This study explores how self-decentering and self-love can be compatible in Thomas Aquinas’ concept of love. For this work I employ the framework of ‘eros versus agape’ by Anders Nygren. Nygren positions agape as non-self-centered love and eros as self-love or self-centered love. He argues that Christian love is conceived as agape, free from any elements of eros. This research aims to confirm, with reference to Nygren’s framework, that God’s love (caritas) includes elements of eros, which, however, do not diminish elements of agape in Aquinas’ view of love. By showing that, in Aquinas’ thought, self-love is the starting point of love for others and enables love of one’s neighbors, I demonstrate that elements of eros are preserved without diminishing the agapic quality of God-centered love that is the basis for love of one’s neighbors, and in fact play a positive role.

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‘Responsibility’ is not a topic that is frequently discussed in Buddhist scriptures. Rather, the primary interest of Buddhist discourses on salvation is liberation from attachment and overcoming the illusion of ‘self’. Thus, it is difficult to find a definitive conception of responsibility in Buddhism. Additionally, the precepts—which were created to maintain order in the Buddhist community, and, as a whole, may be the concept that is closest to the idea of responsibility—are for the most part rules that are expressed in negative terms, e.g., do not kill, do not steal. This paper examines to what degree responsibility is defined in positive terms in Japanese Buddhist scriptures, particularly focusing on the Tendaishū and Jōdo Shinshū. In Saichō’s Buddhist thought, the realisation of the Buddha’s realm is intimately connected to social welfare. Shinran’s teaching demands a form of responsibility that is not mere self-reflection but is self-conscious of the impact of one’s actions on others. By highlighting these aspects of Japanese Buddhism, this study examines how social contributions and coexistence with others are related to discourses of salvation. In conclusion, this paper demonstrates that responsibility serves as a bridge between conventional morality and the Buddhist view of salvation that attains its true meaning only when it transcends this world.

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