Watsuji’s Phenomenology of Aidagara: An Interpretation and Application to Psychopathology
Krueger, JW
Date: 1 January 2018
Book chapter
Publisher
Springer
Abstract
I examine Tetsurō Watsuji’s philosophical discussion of self and embodiment in his Rinrigaku (“A Study of Ethics”). Specifically, I consider how these themes inform his analysis of aidagara, or “betweenness” — one of Watsuji’s central philosophical contributions. First, I develop a phenomenological reading of aidagara. I argue that the ...
I examine Tetsurō Watsuji’s philosophical discussion of self and embodiment in his Rinrigaku (“A Study of Ethics”). Specifically, I consider how these themes inform his analysis of aidagara, or “betweenness” — one of Watsuji’s central philosophical contributions. First, I develop a phenomenological reading of aidagara. I argue that the notion can help illuminate aspects of our embodied subjectivity and its interrelation with the world and others. Along the way, I also indicate how the notion can be fruitfully supplemented by different sources of empirical research. Second, I put aidagara to work in the context of psychopathology. I show how disruptions of aidagara in schizophrenia not only affirm the foundational role it plays in organizing our experience of self and world in everyday life. Additionally, I suggest the notion can, in this context of application, potentially enhance our understanding of and empathy for those living with schizophrenic disorders.
Social and Political Sciences, Philosophy, and Anthropology
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
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