This article discusses the religious elements, in a broad sense, which are embedded in Chinese discourses on bioethics. Bioethical theories and discussions so far presented in the West and Japan are based on particular views on the person and the universe, and Chinese bioethics are basically the same. However, in the Chinese bioethical discourses, human persons are prescribed as beings in the "collectivity," such as society, nation, or humanity, and the sanctity of persons is deduced from this "collectivity." The actual contents of "collectivity" are different according to authors, hence they have different assertions and logic on bioethical issues. Though it is not necessarily easy to say whether these features of Chinese bioethics are based on Chinese religious traditions, they seem to be the contemporary expression of Chinese religiousness.

View full abstract

This paper consists of three parts: on a scholarly methodology concerning "religion and social ethics," the contribution of religion to a happy society, and the religious ethics and epistemology of Kagawa Toyohiko. Instead of the methodology of the sociology of religion, the author proposes an "emergent hermeneutics" so that the subject perceives the world with a fourfold meaning: natural, mental, social, and spiritual. This is a philosophical position of realism that treats science and religion with equal footing. The concept of happiness in utilitarianism has inevitably arrived at the place where "market is the only solution." In order to overcome this, we use R.E. Goodin's analysis to present a post-productive model of work-life balance in which people can have more discretionary time. This model can provide a sustainable society that cares for ecology, already testified to in some European corporative resume of welfare capitalism that can be historically traced back to Christian civilization. In Japan, Kagawa Toyohiko (1888-1960) tried to create a kind of corporative association in many ways based on the "brotherhood economics." This developed later and successfully pioneered the co-op movement. Today, this brotherhood solidarity with varieties of spiritual traditions-Confucian, Buddhist, New-religious, Christian, and Humanist-is necessary in order to create a healthy civil society in Japan.

View full abstract

In his article "Evil and Omnipotence" (1955), J.L. Mackie attempted to refute theistic belief by arguing that the existence of evil is inconsistent with the existence of a wholly good and omnipotent God. It is true that the "free will defense," offered by A. Plantinga, contributed greatly to the logical solution of such a problem of evil, but the important question to be discussed is whether we can accept this kind of solution at the emotional level. The purpose of this paper is to deal with what we might call the emotive problem of evil through the analysis of John K. Roth's "theodicy of protest," which is deeply influenced by Jewish thinking after the Holocaust. It cannot be emphasized too strongly that Roth's theodicy paid attention to the existence of the unjustifiable suffering of victims in history. In my view, this theodicy, which Roth himself identifies with antitheodicy, has much in common with the thought of some Jewish philosophers like Theodor W. Adorno and Emmanuel Levinas. It is from that point of view that I shall show the philosophical, not theological, significance of Roth's (anti) theodicy, and then consider the relationship between Roth's position and Ivan Karamazov's "rebellion."

View full abstract

This research on ecoethics and religious thought was motivated by the wish to explore the possibilities of religious thought for modern environmental problems. In this paper the author concisely takes up the definition of ecoethics, a certain limitation of the approach to "global environmental issues," and the significance of studies on religious thought, which is often criticized for failing to act concretely. Then the author will extract religious thought that gives ecoethical value and sustains ecoactions, by examining three cases of environmental movements by spiritual leaders in Sagano, Takasago, and Yukuhashi. Though these studies it will be shown that persistent study and practice of good actions and good communication with diverse beings in the environmental world, which are transmitted in the manifold religious contexts from ancient times, can certainly change ethical value and ethical principles.

View full abstract

I will consider the significance of a moralist movement, the Oxford Group Movement. This movement changed its name from "Moral Rearmament." It offered venues for international youth exchanges among various nations in addition to the West, including Asia and Africa. Therefore government officials, statesmen, businessmen, artists, and academics welcomed and supported it enthusiastically. However, it also had certain favored religious practices. In this paper, I will describe two of its practices, "Surrender to God" and "Guidance," which is said to be a way of communication with God. These two practices organize the incongruence between peoples' moral life and their religious and moral traditions, and reconnect them with each other. People who have experienced a "life change" through these practices have made a commitment to religious activities, the international exchange, and their professions.

View full abstract

Human-beings exist in "dialogue" as personal communication with the other, through which we can construct a "humanology" (ningen-gaku) based on humanity. "Dialogue" consists of dia-logos, i.e., the dialogical principle. This is a shared truth, i.e., the logos of human-beings which emerges from relations. The dialogical relationship of "I and Thou" is a "pair" concept that has personal resonance between them. Here exists the moment of paradox and creation. A dialogical ethic, therefore, develops as a religious humanology. In this humanology, religion can lead to an ethic through the channel of dialogue, and an ethic can also approach a religion through the dialogue which is its essential meaning. Ethical-religious humanology, through the dialogical principle, provides us with a paradoxical-creative understanding of human-beings, transcending the former type of "anthropology" (ningen-gaku).

View full abstract

Current biological sciences, such as molecular biology and biotechnology, are said to strongly influence and shift our understanding of reality, especially our understanding of human beings and their understanding of God, the ultimate reality. The shift in the "boundaries" between humans and non-humans, humans and nature, and humans and God is being influenced by these biological sciences. These shifts are expected to give birth to a new ethics, in that ethics is related to ethos, the sphere that human beings inhabit. In a society where the Christian world view prevails, the habitats of all things and creatures are said to be predetermined by ordo creationis (=order of creation). Therefore, changing the habitat of a thing or creature is condemned as an impious way to "play God," and it has enormous ethical connotations. This paper will try to illuminate the ethical implications of the current life sciences, and their influence in shaping a possible new form of ethics.

View full abstract

This paper studies the "cult problem" and points out that both cults and religious groups have common features when they expand their membership. A religious community which specializes in a propagation system builds an authoritarian system that assumes a mentoring program in order to improve the ability of social ministry, fundraising, and controlling members' belief system as well as their daily lives. We can look at the repressive and exploitative action of cult leaders towards members as well as towards the general public, which has been recently criticized by pastors as an example of controversial churches and religions that are regarded as "cultic groups." The cult critics-such as counselors, attorneys, and scholars who supported cult victims-effectively criticized particular cults, and addressed their social problem, rather than philosophers and scholars who fundamentally insist on the compliance of morality and law. Social ethics that is constructed on the process of solving social problems develops a boundary between cults and religions, which clarifies the tension between ethics and contemporary religion.

View full abstract

Today is an age of rivalry between religion and ethics. This rivalry, however, is not unique to the modern age. It has repeatedly been identified on the side of religion from the time of the ancient story of the sacrifice of Isaac, and on the side of ethics from the time of Aristotle's ethics. We have critiques from Kant and Watsuji concerning the latter. Watsuji, in particular, spoke about the religious foundations of ethics from his philosophy of nothingness. The interpretations of Kierkegaard, Levinas, and Nishida Kitaro regarding the former have received much attention. In particular, Nishida's view of God from the perspective of the self-identity of absolute contradiction offers suggestions for a fresh interpretation of this narrative. When we review these interpretations, as well as Tillich's thinking on these issues, we find that we must renew our interpretation of the concepts of "religion" and "ethics." As a result, religion is redefined as being concerned with a limitless reality that transcends subjectivity and objectivity, and ethics as reasoning that directs union with the other in a manner that cultivates integration of character. When we re-envision them in this way, we can find a means of overcoming the rivalry between the two.

View full abstract

What kind of subjects could be argued on the theme "Buddhism and ethics"? It is often pointed out that "ethics," especially "social ethics," is lacking in Buddhism. If "ethics" were considered as morality-a normative discipline or a social norm that may be defined by a kind of transcendent reality-then it may be admitted that, since Buddhism is a religion with "transworldly" aims, it does not offer a model for activity in this world or forming values for a social life. "Religious pluralism" in our modern globalized world also involves a "pluralism of ethics and moral philosophy." Not only religions but also ethics are open for questioning. The "religious practices" of many religions cannot be well interpreted through the notion of "religion" (and also of "ethics") which has evolved in the modern age. "Religious practice" (and also "secular ethics") might be limited to within its own individual sphere. Buddhism is a religion that teaches the cause of "suffering" and the way of deliverance from suffering. Buddhists, taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Samgha, seek to attain Nirvana, to be awakened. Buddhist concern (religious practice) is related to the awareness of Dharma (truth, the way of deliverance from "suffering"). If such Buddhist religious concern (practice) were considered as "ethics," it could be called "Buddhist ethics," which may contribute to a kind of "secular morality." In the Mahayana/Pure Land tradition, Buddhist practice is not concerned with constructing a social ethic but to "attain Buddhahood." I would like to examine this idea from the perspective of "the teaching of nenbutsu."

View full abstract

Human nature has a dynamic essence, which is originally to be united with the infinite divine nature. Therefore, we must reject the view of "Gnosticism" which regards the human soul as divine, being separated from the body, and we must also transcend the view of the natural sciences which reduces the human soul to merely materialistic elements. In order to search for the way to perfect human nature, we should regard the body (or corporeity) as part of the possibility for transforming human nature. The sanctification of the body includes the meaning of a better transformation and the deification of human nature. The aim of this paper is to make clear the dynamic structure of such a sanctification of the body. This consideration will also help to grasp the basics of religious philosophy.

View full abstract

In post-revolutionary French society, both territorial societies and functional corporations were broken up, and the emergence of the proletariat provoked social problems. While the Republicans tried to solve the problems by public assistance or solidarity, the Catholic people resorted to the labor union movement (social Catholicism) for men or traditional charitable works by women. The Lourdes pilgrimage began with this historical background, at first as an attempt to unify the poor in society, but the discoursive tendency of social Catholicism and the factional tendancy of charitable works gradually weakened, eventually forming "the space of appearance" of the sick, where care for others is the priority. In this paper-referring to the argument by Carol Gilligan on the gender bias in ethics, where she aims to rehabilitate an "ethic of care and responsibilities (women's morality)," in contrast to an "ethic of rights and justice (men's morality)"-, we will look at the significance and potentiality of disponibilite, a norm for "yielding one's initiative to others," which arose from practices of caring for the sick through the Lourdes pilgrimage.

View full abstract

The inhabitants on the coast of the Shiranui Sea had sustained unfathomable suffering, which have continued until today even though five decades has passed since Minamata disease was officially recognized. Many people, including some supporters as well as individuals affected by the disease, have faced a severe ethical failure in their surroundings. We are convinced that there is naturally much to be learned from some of their written works, where their invaluable thoughts have been cultivated through the experience of this difficulty. We shall make it clear that a novel practice, on the basis of a subtle balance between ethics and religion, has been developed under the influence of the peculiar environment brought about by the incident. Such a peculiarity can be attributed to the essential lack of accounts of themselves by the people who have been confronted with ethical failure. For evidence, we will consider the ethical consciousness shared by the members of the "Circle of Hongan," a loosely bound organization of interested victims. In particular, we will find thought-provoking discourse by a main member of the organization in his written works.

View full abstract

In this article I will discuss the meaning of the word "ethics" before moving on to the relation between religion and ethics in India, namely some problems with the word rinri, the Japanese translation of "ethics." Then I will discuss the teachings of Nanak, who established his own school of thought in India in the Middle Ages, and clarify how his religious teachings were linked with the everyday ethics of the Sikhs, how the Sikhs applied the teachings in their daily life, and how they manifested their uniqueness in the real world. The rational and practical teachings of the Sikhs are manifested strongly in model actions for daily life, and the Sikhs have contributed greatly to the modernization of India. The attempt by the Sikhs to practice their religious ideals within the current world is a different model than that of Europe, but is an example of the unity of religion and ethics.

View full abstract

In this paper the author tries to investigate the religious and ethical resources of psychotherapy. Humans are dual beings, balancing a conflict of relationships between the natural biological being and the social cultural being. It is a habitual stance in the practice of psychotherapy that the therapist and client maintain a face-to-face interview. Yet the basis for how the conversation can be supportive of a client's self regulation of negative emotion in the interview situation is not clear. In this paper the author refers to the text of Spinoza's Ethics, which proposes basic principles of psychotherapy for emotional states. When one forms clear and suitable concepts into his/her emotional states, he/she can make self regulation easier. He/She can recover his/her agency transformed from a passive being. This is a therapeutic moment. Spinoza defines human emotion in terms of the transformation of body sensation that is "affectus." Spinoza's concept of "conatus" connected human reason that guides us with fruitful ideas in therapeutic practice through which one's self recognition will be deepened. The "Other's" dialogical response is quite necessary because it can define the limit of "conatus," and it can realize the realistic power of "conatus."

View full abstract

In diesem Aufsatz werden die Begriffe Gut und Bose in der Religion und in der Moral analysiert, wie sie Kant und die deutschen Idealisten, insbesondere Fichte und Schelling in ihren Hauptschriften, d.h. Kants "Kritik der praktischen Vernuft" und "Die Religion", Fichtes "Die Anweisung zum seligen Leben", und Schellings "Uber das Wesen der menschlichen Freiheit" und "Philosophie der Offenbarung" erortert haben. Weiter wird gezeigt, wie sie in den genannten Werken die Beziehung des religiosen Begriffs von Gut und Bose zu dem entsprechenden moralischen Begriff abgehandelt haben. Dabei treten drei verschiedene Konstellationen auf: 1) der Vorzug des religiosen Begriffs vor dem moralischen, 2) der Vorzug des moralischen Begriffs vor dem religiosen, 3) die Ubereinstimmung beider. Jeder der drei Philosophen nimmt seine eigene Position ein und erortert auf seine Art die Beziehung der Religion zur Moral.

View full abstract

Traditionists in the ninth century vehemently attacked Abu Hanifa, the founder of the Hanafi school of law, primarily because he did not squarely rely on the Prophetic Sunna. From the turn of the ninth century onward the Hanafis began to compile manaqib (virtues) of Abu Hanifa to refute their criticism and to claim the orthodoxy of their school. The present article has two aims. First, it seeks to give the outlines of the Manaqib of al-Muwaffaq Ahmad al-Makki (d. 1172/3), one of the most popular writings on this subject. Second, it seeks to detect the criteria by which the compilers of the earliest manaqib selected the narratives concerning various features of Abu Hanifa, which were to be incorporated in the al-Makki's compilation. For this purpose it analyses the information of the transmitters of these narratives in the biographical dictionaries written by traditionists. It reaches, on the basis of the analysis, the conclusion that the fifth generation of the transmitters including the compilers of the earliest manaqib was the first to adopt the methodology of the traditionists in sorting out narratives concerning Abu Hanifa.

View full abstract