THE IMPACT OF EUROPEAN NIHILISM OVER THE CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE SOCIETY

Authors

  • Alexandra-Gabriela Baranyi Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania

Keywords:

Japanese Society, Nihilism, Philosophy, Western Influence, Social Issues

Abstract

The concept of nothingness was present in the Japanese philosophy long before European nihilism, in terms of emptiness, as a Buddhist theory, and it was later developed by the Kyoto School, as a key element of their philosophy. However, the Western sense of nothingness spread out, as a consequence of blind exposure to European influence. The present paper will discuss the channels through which European nihilism arrived in Japan, not only as a philosophic theory but moreover the way it was unconsciously absorbed during the Modern Era. The essay will analyze the dialogues between East and West, such as the critics of Karl Löwith and Keiji Nishitani’s responses, to find the linkage between nihilism and the changes the Contemporary Japanese society had suffered in the latest decades. The need for development after World War II caused them to blindly soak up the Western culture, creating many gaps between the traditional way of thinking and the new, Western-like mentality. After the ‘euphoric stage’ of the Economic boom, the society was left on ‘the ground of nihility’, leading to social issues, such as increasing suicidal rate, population’s general depression, or increase of nationalist movements. What remains as a solution is to first critically analyze the traditional way of thinking, and after that to find a pattern by which the foreign influence should be approached.

References

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Published

2021-05-26