우키타 가즈타미(浮田和民)의 애기/애타 해석과 윤리적 제국주의론

Abstract

This paper examines the influence of German ‘individualism’ accepted during the formation of Japan’s ‘national state’ on modern Japanese intellectuals. Discussion on ‘individualism’ in Japan was fiercely conducted with the introduction of Nietzsche’s philosophy in the late 19th century. At that time, Japan embraced Western ethics, and discussions surrounding the ‘progress of morality’ were actively developed. This is because in the period of imperialism that rapidly spread after Japan won the Sino-Japanese War, morality was a major task for Japanese thinkers. Among them, Kazutami Ukita was a figure who led the theory of imperialism in Japan from the late 1890s to the early 1900s. He evaluated Hobbes and Nietzsche’s selfishness and Fichte’s and Schopenhauer’s altruism as extreme moral theories. He emphasized that the basis of morality lies in the moderate, unbiased on either side. In addition, Ukita defined imperialism as a state that not only can achieve the independence of a country, but also seeks to participate in world civilization and politics. Thus, imperialism is defined as not necessarily having an aggression connotation. He said that imperialism could be harmonious with socialism if it emphasized ethics. And he argues that in the 20th century, nation-states should practice ‘imperialism on the outside, socialism on the inside’. This perception influenced the duality of Taisho Demonstration. The duality of the Taisho Demonstration is to demand Asian hegemony from the outside while developing a people’s movement claiming the rights of the people inside. Therefore, even if Ukita's ethical imperialism denied feudal aggression, it would not be possible to avoid the evaluation that it contributed to Japan’s war logic. In this way, since the late Meiji period, Japanese society has developed various discussions in the process of accepting Western moral concepts. Among them, Ukita showed different characteristics from the existing imperialists, but ideological change occurred when Japan started the war. Could this ideological shift and transfer of intellectuals be the cause of Japan’s ‘Nevertheless progress to war’? When the Sino-Japanese War broke out, the Japanese government published The Inheritance of the National Government to teach that individuals should be subordinated to the state for peace. As a result, the Japanese people became a means of carrying out war in accordance with the national policy and ideology.