An Encouragement of Learning

Yukichi Fukuzawa, David Dilworth, Shunsaku Nishikawa

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English

Columbia University Press
17 December 2013

Philosophy & theory of education; Political science & theory

The intellectual and social theorist Yukichi Fukuzawa wrote An Encouragement of Learning (1872–1876) as a series of pamphlets while completing his critical masterpiece, An Outline of a Theory of Civilization (1875). These closely linked texts illustrate the core tenets of his philosophical outlook: freedom and equality as inherent to human nature, independence as the goal of any individual and nation, and the transformation of the Japanese mind as key to advancing in a rapidly evolving political and cultural world.

In these essays, Fukuzawa advocated for the adoption of Western modes of education to help the Japanese people build a modern nation. He also believed that human beings' treatment of one another extended to and was reflected in their government's behavior, echoing the work of John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, and other Western thinkers in a classically structured Eastern text. This volume translates the full text into English and includes a chronology of Japanese history as it relates to Fukuzawa and his work. An introduction provides additional background on the life and influence of this profound thinker, and a selection of representative writings and suggestions for further reading fully introduce readers to the rare brilliance of his thought.

By: Yukichi Fukuzawa
Introduction by: Shunsaku Nishikawa
Translated by: David Dilworth
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 20mm
Weight: 425g
ISBN: 9780231167147
ISBN 10: 0231167148
Pages: 192
Publication Date: 17 December 2013
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Further / Higher Education , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Translator's New Foreword and Acknowledgments Introduction by Nishikawa Shunsaku A Note on the Text Section One Section Two Section Three Section Four Section Five Section Six Section Seven Section Eight Section Nine Section Ten Section Eleven Section Twelve Section Thirteen Section Fourteen Section Fifteen Section Sixteen Section Seventeen Appendix: A Defense of Gakumon no Susume Appendix: Chronology of Japanese History, with Special Reference to Fukuzawa Yukichi and An Encouragement of Learning Appendix: Fukuzawa Yukichi: Some Representative Writings and Further Reading Index

Yukichi Fukuzawa (1835-1901) founded Keio University, the first private university in modern Japan, and was an engaged speaker and controversial journalist. His books include An Outline of a Theory of Civilization, The Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa, and Conditions in the West. Shunsaku Nishikawa is professor emeritus at Keio University, where he also served as the director of the Fukuzawa Memorial Center for Modern Japanese Studies at the Keio Institute of East Asian Studies. His books include The Labor Market in Japan: Select Readings. David A. Dilworth is professor of philosophy at the State University of New York, Stony Brook. He is also the translator, with G. Cameron Hurst III, of Yukichi Fukuzawa's An Outline of a Theory of Civilization.

Reviews for An Encouragement of Learning

In An Encouragement of Learning, Fukuzawa wrote that freedom and equality are inherent in man's nature; he presented ideas that John Locke or Thomas Jefferson would immediately have recognized. His logic justified the move from a highly stratified, four-class society to one in which any person could aspire to any occupation. He wrote of the obligations between humans in society, and generalized from these to relations between nations. Reading the book, you can imagine life in a society that has suddenly become free, a society in which all of the trammels of caste and class have been dissolved. How might Fukuzawa's words of encouragement have helped late nineteenth century Japanese as they faced their future? -- Albert M. Craig, Harvard-Yenching Professor of Japanese History, Emeritus, Harvard University