The Epistemology of Rinrigaku

This chapter examines the dominant moral theories in early Meiji Japan, with particular emphasis on the underlying epistemology that shaped and authorized rinrigaku. It first considers the epistemological antecedents of rinrigaku, namely, ri (principle) and jitsugaku (practical studies), before turning to early Meiji theories of ethics. It then explores how the good was understood in early rinrigaku discourse and how such conceptions were produced. More specifically, it analyzes the conditions for moral truthfulness and how they were legitimized. It also discusses the underlying epistemology out of which rinrigaku emerged, focusing on “modernity” and its connection to a particular set of authoritative and fundamental presuppositions about knowledge and truth that (re)shaped thought, action, and the good. Finally, it describes an epistemology of representation and the ways it informed rinrigaku as well as other views of the good.