The Tanni-shō was written by Yuien, a follower of Shinran. Yuien grieved over the differences in the notion of faith in the religious community after the death of Shinran, because he wanted to unite everyone around this concept and eliminate their doubt. The Tanni-shō has two sections relevant to this issue: the first contains the alleged words of Shinran, and the second offers what Yuien contends are arguments by others that are different from Shinran's teaching. Chapter 10 bridges these two paragraphs, because both the words of Shinran and the preface of Yuien's criticism appear in it (an observation made in previous scholarship). Satō Masahide's (2005) article “Tanni-shō ronshaku” argues that the original Tanni-shō was actually two books that were separated by this chapter. This paper, however, contends that the words of Shinran in Chapter 10 are theorized in chapters 1-9 and that it is closely connected with Yuien's criticism. Through this evidence, the paper argues that regarding Chapter 10, Satō's views are not in line with those of Yuien on the concept of the absolute “other power” (tariki) of Amitabha that was taught by Shinran, thus presenting a unified theory of the Tanni-shō in accordance with the original text.

Previous studies on the thought of Ibn ‘Arabī (d. 1240) have not focused on his intellectual relationship with his predecessors' frameworks, despite emphasizing his own impact on posterity. Most notably, his criticisms of his predecessors have seldom been examined. By negatively evaluating human intellect (‘aql) from the perspective of mystical psychology, Ibn ‘Arabī criticized the intellectual methodology of philosophers and theologians and clarified the differences between his doctrine and preceding theories. However, previous studies on this tension often present it in simplistic terms of the opposition of intellect versus religious law or mystical experience without examining its underlying focus, reasons, and intention. The significance of this tension in the context of his psychology has received little consideration. By analyzing the logical structure of Ibn ‘Arabī's mystical doctrine, which evaluates intellect negatively, I clarify its vital role in his mystical psychology and reveal the centrality of his perspective on intellect within this doctrine. I conclude that his critical response to previous intellectual traditions facilitated the formation of his own thought.

With the development of morality among citizens in early-modern Italy, an anti-Jewish stereotype of Jews as greedy and immoral emerged. It was based on arguments of differentiation between Christians and Jews. Simone Luzzatto, a seventeenth-century Venetian rabbi, attempted to refute this idea as well as preserve his own culture and identity. Chapters thirteen and fourteen of his work “Discorso” distinguish between two aspects of Judaism, specific rituals and universal morality. The rituals, according to Luzzatto, are observed only by Jews on their free will, while all humans should share the morality assertively. This understanding appears to be similar to modern concepts of religion. However, Luzzatto also stressed that individuals in society are first connected through rituals, whereas relationships with gentiles are formed outside of this ritual context, through morality. This illustrates an idea of society that is completely different from its modern counterpart. In formulating his ideas, Luzzatto aimed to describe Judaism in a way that was suitable for the Venetian government policy. The Jewish community, on the one hand, contributed to the Venetian order with its moral doctrine in a similar manner as the Christian confraternities did. On the other hand, they had the specific ritual precepts equivalent to the customs of minority groups of foreigners that were recognized as a “natione.”