Download Anzai Masahiro

Anzai Masahiro
The reflect of the war-liking of logos-centrism
―The way to co-exist and reconcile―
Anzai Masahiro
Graduated School of Sophia University
At first, I want to start with the two questions.
1. Are the difficult problems of modern civilization combined with the character of
“logos-centrism” deeply?
2. Is the character of“logos‐centrism”too belligerent?
What are the difficult problems of modern civilization？They are global destruction of
nature and global endless civil wars and global economical instability．If we didn’t do
anything，we faced the tragic catastrophe． Especially，the accident in Fukusima
seems to be very symbolic．
The “logos-centrism” was criticized by many modern philosophers like Heidegger．The
post－modern philosopher ,Jacques Derrida is famous for “deconstruction”1 of it．He
criticized it by saying“hidden desire to remove other people”
．I want to criticize the
belligerent character of“logos－centrism as the negative side of that like shadow．I
think that it is the influence of our relationships．
By the way, is modern civilization very greedy and arrogant against nature of our
Earth and others？Because, it robs resources from the earth and fights for them．It
doesn’t like the way to co-exist and reconcile ，but the greedy and arrogant way．At least,
it seems to be hostile and fighting against nature and others．
I believe that the statements are very true expression of the relationship between
human and human thought．
： The lifestyle of human being and the attitude for the environment affect human
thoughts and the perspectives．On the other hand, human thoughts and the
perspectives affect the lifestyle of human being and the attitude for the
environment．
Marx said “Beings define consciousness”2．I think it is very dogmatic and not
scientific．On the other hand, the statement is more fair than Marx．According to the
statements, there might be the possibility that the greedy and arrogant character of
modern civilization are combined with the character of modern thoughts．
Almost of modern orthodox thoughts have the strong conviction for “reason”
．For
example, modern science has the faith for theoretical reason．Such a faith was
originated from the tradition of “logos-centrism”．
We cannot define “logos”
．Now, it means “reason”“
, logic”,“word”and“meaning”
．
“Logos”means talking and more originally distinction and gathering．In modern
English, the origin of“catalog”and “category”were“logos”
．First，
“category”was
used by classical logic ．
But,“logos”isn’t written language , but rather than spoken language．because the
spoken language is more originally and from soul or mind．It almost meant the voice of
self．
1 The origin was “Abbau，Destrukution”which Heidegger used ．Jacques Derrida translated it“deconstruction”
．
He wanted to use it more positive．He took down monoliths in traditional philosophy to find new interpretations by
it．It doesn’t mean to destroy．
2 “Zur Kritik der Ökonomie”1859 ．Marx.
I think materialistic productions usually premise on many human understandings ．So，I consider it a kind of
dogma ．
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Anzai Masahiro
Reason is ability to distinguish and judge by “principle”
．Logic distinguishes truth
from false in thinking．Words distinguish many things in the word．3
After early modern times, Descartes conducted the revolution of the history of logos．
He established “thinking ego”or“reasonable ego”4as human subject．It doesn’t depend
on any object．The subject has completely been distinguished from any object．The
schema of “subject /object”was established．Modern science can have universal
knowledge by the schema．Because it can remove subjective and self－satisfaction from
objective knowledge But, it revolutionized the concept of truth．It has meant“the
correspond between subject and object”
．The Problem occurred “how possible”
．
Kant interrupted object as “Gegenstand”in our experience．In his subject－ism human
universal subject is the law maker to object in experience．Nature is obeyed by subject
as the law maker．So, the concept of truth became possible．But，we can only know
phenomena，not thing in itself．If we would know things beyond experience，we couldn’t
construct object and know nothing5．On the contrary，we should fall in antinomies．
Antinomies mean self－contradiction，self－destruction．It means strange fate that
reason struggles itself．Kant avoided the fate by distinction between phenomena and
thing in itself．But，in region of the theoretical reason，so about the totality，the reason
（logos） can only avoid self－contradiction，antinomies．Kant asserted that the
practical reason can realize identity of reason6．He thought the fate that reason
struggles itself was negative．So，he couldn’t conquest the dualism about real changing
world．
On the other hand，Hegel thought “contradictions is truth of reason and Dialectic is
real logic in thinking and logic about real changing and moving world ”
．He considered
the fate that reason struggles itself is positive and knowing it is the real self―cognition
of reason（logos）
．So，about the totality，the identity of reason can be realized by itself．
The identity of reason can include totality of the world．7
So，accepting the necessity to struggle itself for change and evolution means a kind
of completion for reason itself．After that，philosophy can only be advanced the reality
which reason can not grasp，especially“existence”8．And Marx criticized Hegel for the
thought of “absolute spirit”
．Marx used dialectic too．But，He thought the subject of
evolution was not “spirit”but “material things”9．Both of them are considered to be
dogmatic．Because both are based on almighty of thinking．Lastly，in the battle of
ideologies，there was no winner．We heard “the end of history”10or“ the end of big
3 “Kritik der reinen Vernunft（Critic of pure reason）
”B356，A405
4 “Discours de la méthode ，Essais”1637．Descartes said “cogito ergo sum（I think，therefore I am）
”．So，
“res cogitans（thinking ego）”doesn’t completely depend on material substance．
5 “Kritik der reinen Vernunft（Critic of pure reason）
”，Die transzendentale Analytick（the
analysis）．Kant insisted that the principles of science can be applied only to phenomenal
transcendental
world。
6 “Kritik der praktishen Vernunft（Critic of practical reason）
”
7 Hegel insisted that the absolute idea have own unity which include all things and such a object for itself．The
absolute idea is pure reasonable concept．It belongs to reason itself（der absolute Geist）as subject and object．．
Dialectic of reason synthesize every opposition and contradiction．But ，I can find his ego-inflation．Because reason
doesn’t have enough power to integrate everything．He ignored the possibility to exist Others for reason．
8 For example，existentialism criticized Hegel that his philosophy can not distinguish existence from essentials ．
Only existence have human subjectivity．So，his philosophy ignores individual human subjectivities．
9 We called the materialism
“the dialectic materialism（Dierektiker Materialisumus）”．
10 The End of History?, a 1989 essay by Fukuyama published in the international affairs journal The National
Interest
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Anzai Masahiro
story”
．Only，analytic experimentalism and linguistic turn11 is the greatest evolution
about “logos”in the 20th century．
Logos has a kind of radical root．Because logos can only deny logos．Deconstruction
can not deny it．It could dislocate logos-centrism by pointing impossibility of pure
elemental divisions which metaphysics is based on．And he reveal the desire to remove
others of pursuing them．
Is it enough to accept neutral criticisms？Can we abandon “logos”？I think we don’t
have to abandon the tradition of ”logos“．But，at the same time，I have to recognize
the negative side of it．I want to call it“the shadow of logos－centrism”
Modern technology seemed to give us the great future，if we could keep some principle
of duty．For example，the duty of disposal，the duty of recycling，the duty of reprocessing
of waste material，and the duty of containment and so on．The concept of duty means
“Pflicht”12which Kant called in German．It means actions which we do unconditionally
to do．
But，my thought was changed after the accident in Fukusima．I felt the different
realities between the theoretical knowledge and the practical action or reality．
We can pursue the purest completion of the theoretical knowledge．Although，it is
limited．And we sometimes fall in nonsense self－contradictions．For example，in the
ethics，we can not define the concept of good．Kant could only make us have the insight
of the absolutely moral law，good will，or duty．We can not define it，but we can know
it by something like intuition．I believe we have moral commonsense a･priori．13
In quantum physics，we have to accept “uncertainty”or“ambiguity”
．We should give
up reasonable continuity and the pure completely．We can only get ambiguity totality．
Mind and matter are deferent aspects of the same“event”or“reality”
．The schema of
14
“subject/object”hasn’t enough validity．
About more realistic and practical things，we can promote the nuclear reactors or
plants in the theoretical view point．Of course，we must strictly keep the principles of
duty ．We can develop high－level derivatives，if we could minimize risks ．But，we can
not stop the movement of post－nuclear plant and now many people don’t like high－
level derivatives．It is difficult to refuse neo―con theory．But，many people can not
believe it．
If we had more objective perspective，we always fall in some nonsense exclusive
conflicts which require to decide whether right or not．Almost of the questions are
nonsense．And in the world of logos （philosophy）the main battle was already over．
11 The thought means that reality which we can know is conditioned by language．The thought of Wittgenstein is
considered to be one of the origin ．
12 “Kritik der praktishen Vernunft（Critic of practical reason）
” Immanuel Kant
“Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten（the foundation for metaphysics of morality）”Immanuel Kant
His ethics began to analyze daily moral word．For example，“Pflicht（duty）．I think he started it from apriority
（aprioprität）in living world（Lebenswelt）．
13 Kant would prove “moral law”It was result of analysis“good will”
．But，He
could only take impossibility
of demonstration of it．The process meant that good“of good will be defined by the conditions of will．So，he tried
to substitute the complex of conditions for the concept of good．
When we define a concept ，we always substitute the complex of conditions for the concept ．But，we can only say
that good is good．The concept of good is too simple to define．For example，the concept of red is too simple to define．
But、we can know it by intuition in real experience and feel something necessary．I think we have commonsense
which have apriority．
14 It
means“uncertainty principle”．When the combination of two physical quantities are measured ，we can
not measure them without uneven measured value．
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Anzai Masahiro
But，many people continue fighting by logos．In some cases，the battles become more
violently.
In eastern world，two wise men stopped their battle before becoming violent. They
said “It is a illusion（not true）
”
．Buddha said “the truth is one．So，any controversy
can not exist．
”And he said that real truth is only practical，essentially not words．15
A master of Zen stopped the battle that young monks were fighting over the theory．
The battle was over a little cat．The master killed the cat．The young monks were very
shocked and regretted it deeply．Another excellent disciple retuned to the temple and
heard the accident．The master asked him what he should have done．He put his
sandals on his head．He wanted to express that you are putting the cart before the horse．
We，Japanese called such a case“honnmatu―tentou（本末転倒）”
．I was interested in
the difference of their characters．16
In the eastern world，many different traditions from logos-centrism exist．I felt
something peaceful about them．From the more bigger worldview，logos is very useful to
make things clear and distinguish complicated things．Especially，it is most useful to
put things in order．But，we sometimes use logos for nonsense battles．The worst is to
use it for violence．I want to call such a type of thoughts“ultra－logos”
．
Why such things occurred？One of the image of the action of logos is to cut．I associated
with the scene where a hero cuts a dragon．The dragon symbolized something like chaos．
Logos represents a person who likes conflict．I’m sorry that I was too subjective．What
is the shadow of “logos－centrism”？I think to cut relationships is it．Sometimes we
may distinguish，but must not separate things．This shadow affects our modern
lifestyles and attitude to our environments．The greedy and arrogant character of
modern civilization are combined with the character of modern thoughts．
I think that some modern thoughts have the belligerent character of logos-centrism．
The conclusion is to respect “relationships”between nature of the earth and others．
Greedy destroys relationships．We need the view point of relationships，when we use
logos．I think the way to co-exist and reconcile is our new hopeful lifestyle．One question
is left．Why the Controversy over words or thinking become violent？
Gandhi practiced “nonviolent resistance”for independence of India．He thought
that nonviolence is to practice truth．His nonviolence is called“ahimsã”and it is based
on the great tradition in Indian philosophy．Buddha taught “ahimsã”too．Gandhi had
the strong conviction that the truth can get final victory and to grasp the truth is most
important．17
For Buddhism，practice is most important and it based on compassion and wisdom．
The truth is called“dharma”
．The truth，
“dharma18”means practical truth without
exception．Because of such universality，the practical truth“dharma”is true．Everybody
must practice practical truth without exception．It is the ground that Buddhism
considers itself absolute．Gandhi and Buddha believe the“ahimsã”have essentially such
a university．
It naturally denies any discrimination and based on compassionate relationships．The
thought affirms intellect that denies to distinguish．The concept of intellect is different
15 Suttanipata 884
16 「無門漢」14. This story teaches “transcended beyond dual oppositions”
．We usually look down “sandal ” or “cat．
The master and his excellent disciple denied such a discrimination as a illusion．
17
“The story of My Experiments
，with Truth”，1927－29 ，Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
18 It means originally “keeping”and change eternal truth to keep human being as human ．So，
“dharma”should
be practiced by everybody without exception．
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Anzai Masahiro
from the concept of intellect belongs to“logos－centrism”
．Because it denies to
distinguish．
It belongs to the type of thought“ultra―logos”
．If we will practice truth based on
compassionate relationships like“ahimsá”
，we should transcend any discrimination by
the“ultra―logos” intellect．In Buddhism，it called “Prjãnã－pãlamitã”19．We，
Japanese called“Hannnyaharamituta（般若波羅蜜多）”
．Words and teaching by words
and theory is only tools，not ultimate purpose for them．
The usual “logos－centric” intellect has the danger to cut compassionate relationships．
I don’t want to advocate Buddhism or tradition of Indian philosophy．But，I would
compare them with“logos－centrism”from the view point of relationships．
In the western world，I think that “Trinity”belongs to“ultra―logos”type and
orthodox Christianity need it to express divine and compassionate relationships or
communications．There is danger to cut the holly relationships or communications by
the“logos－centric” intellect．20
I think that we must reconstruct “next lifestyle of human being and the attitude for
the environment”
．We should reflect the shadow of“logos－centrism”and create the way
to co-exist and reconcile beyond any difference，any discrimination and opposition to
avoid tragic catastrophes in our future．We must create“new uniting symbol beyond
oppositions”to save ourselves．
What are the oppositions that cause the disease of modern civilization？For example，
global destruction of nature are caused by the opposition between human being and
nature．The most serious opposition is a kind of division．global endless civil wars are
caused by the gap between rich and poor people or many irrational discriminations．
global economical instability are caused by global economical gap and the difficult to
keep and control global economical balance．
We can find the common structure of cause of the diseases．It is division or split．It
is considered to be destruction of relationships or communications．So，the things that
lead to “integration”are good．On the other hand，the things that lead to “division
or split”are bad．
If we don’t have perspective of value of relationships，we can not find it．So，the way
to co-exist and reconcile is“integration of oppositions”
．We have to integrate the division
between“logos－centrism”and“ultra―logos”
．About technology，energy and styles of
industry or production，We should integrate human being and nature．About lifestyle，
we have to integrate work and life．
The conclusion is that the things that lead to “integration”are good and the things
that lead to “division or split”are bad．It isn’t absolute，only to resolve the difficult
problems of modern civilization．But，I think that “logos－centrism“hasn’t enough
power to integrate reasonable things and unreasonable things．
So，We had reflect the belligerent character of logos-centrism for it．Which attitude we
should choose“post－nuclear plant ”or not？I believe we have to think recyclable
energy from the view point．If we want to avoid the tragic catastrophe，we should
conquest and integrate many oppositions in modern civilization．
I think that the character of the thought of Whitehead is the exact opposite of the
philosophy of Kant．For example，the thought of Whitehead is cosmological．On the
19 It means “wisdom to reach ideal state（the opposite bank of the river）.”We called the opposite bank of the river
“higan（彼岸）．Ideal state means transcend beyond dual oppositions．Cf．16
20 It means the different three persona ，God，Christ and holly spirit is same one God．It is
considered to be the
heart of Christianity．
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Anzai Masahiro
other hand，the philosophy of Kant is ideological．In the philosophy of Kant，the subject
constructs objective world．For the thought of Whitehead，
“subjects is born from living
21
world” ．The world of whitehead is consistent organic．On the other hand，the
philosophy of Kant，he tried to conquest the dualism between the mechanical word and
the organic world．But he couldn’t it22．For Wittgenstein，
“I”is the limit of world23．I
found that Kant and Wittgenstein did self－restriction on the possibility of cognition
and linguistic and they have cut off fertile world and uncertain world．On the other
hand，the thought of Whitehead is about such a world．
Although，I would defend Kant and Wittgenstein，because of their honesty and
sincerity．They had strong conviction that knowledge，philosophy and science must have
strict certainty．But，
“the world of living，organic and creative world”can not remove
uncertainty and unreasonable things．
Of course，they believe such a world without skepticism．They shouldn’t talk about it
as knowledge by reason or words．Wittgenstein believed in god and absolute value．But，
he said he couldn’t talk about it24．He liked to read the Gospels．Kant strongly believed
in god at first．But，he strictly demonstrated impossibility to recognize it by theoretical
reason25．For them，precision and strict certainty is most important．I could find that the
world of living，organic and creative world exists without skepticism by Whitehead．
But，I have some honest questions about his thought．Why did he use language to
express his thought？Is the world of living，organic and creative world too direct to use
words？Where is“death”in such a world？I felt that “death”might be more ignored
in real world．
By the way，what is “epoch”26in time？I can not understand the concept．It means
“discontinuity of continuity”in time．I guess the origin is from quantum physics．
From the view point of “logos－centrism”
，I think his theory of time belongs to “ultra
―logos”type．It is beyond distinction of“logos”
．And his some concepts is very important
for relationships．Especially，
“prehension”
，
“feeling”and “process”27．So，I have a
strong conviction that the thought of Whitehead contribute to resolve difficult crisis of
modern civilization in the 21th century．
21
“Process and reality”，1929.，Alfred North Whitehead
22 Kant tried to resolve it in“Kritik der Urteilskraft（Critic of the power of judgment）
”
．
23 “Tractatus Logico－philosophicus”1921．5・62
24 “Tractatus
Logico－philosophicus”1921．6.5－7
“Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen.（man must not say any thing which man can
not speak about．”（6.7）
25 “Kritik der reinenVernunft（Critic of pure reason）
，B595－696，A642－668
26 “science and the modern world”1925 ，Alfred North Whitehead
27 “Process and reality”
，1929 ，Alfred North Whitehead
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