Project to connect thinking and living

Life studies include both thoughts and actions, thinking and living. As mentioned above, one of the ultimate goals of life studies is to live and die our limited life “without regret.” In this sense, living our own life is an essential part of life studies. Thedichotomy of theory and practice does not work here. “Thinking” is a form of action, and we cannot act without a cognitive framework influenced by language. What is needed is wisdom that does not let our eyes turn away from oneself and one’s own life. In this sense, life studies on a personal level should be a lonely act. This is the reason why “support from a distance” is required. It is important to keep in mind that people joining life studies as a project must apply life studies on a personal level. We cannot separate the two.

I have written a number of works on life studies in Japanese, but this is only one of the possible variations of life studies. Everyone [195/196] can develop his/her own life studies. In science, the words “her science” or “my science” are senseless. However, in life studies, the words “her life studies” or “my life studies” are meaningful descriptions of the concept. Morioka’s approach is apt to be biased towards philosophy. There will be many more approaches to life studies on a personal level. Hence, Morioka’s life studies never fully represent “life studies as a project.”

The interrelated development of these three categories will be required for life studies and I would like to invite interested people throughout the world to contribute their thoughts on this topic (See Table 1).

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Cross-cultural Approaches to the Philosophy of Life in the Contemporary World
(2004)
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