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『竹取物語』の「涙」 : 心の象徴としての涙とそのパロディ的表現の考察
Get PDF日本古典文学において「涙」は重要なキーワードである。『竹取物語』において、「涙」の表現は少ないようにも見えるが、物語終盤に集中してあらわれる「泣く」という表現は『竹取物語』において「涙」が人間の心の象徴であることを示している。『竹取物語』には不老不死で美しいが心を持たない月の人と、老いて死に、美しくないが心を持つ人間との対比が描かれる。物語を通してかぐや姫は人間の心を獲得し、月に帰るときに羽衣を着ることでそれを失ってしまう。人間の心の象徴として、「泣く」という表現が物語終盤に集中して描かれる。心を失ったかぐや姫は、羽衣を着てから泣くことはないが、地上に残された人間たちは泣き続けるのである。また、涙にまつわるパロディ的な表現は、『竹取物語』が自らの虚構性を自覚したフィクションであるということを示唆する。『竹取物語』にあらわれる二例の「血の涙」はいずれもパロディ的な側面をもっている。そして、求婚者の歌に詠まれる「袂が乾く」という表現も、ミメティックレベルでは問題がないがポエティックレベルでは気持ちがさめてしまったことを詠んでしまう歌となっている。パロディ的な表現が「涙」の表現を通して見えてくる。一方、現代の「かぐや姫」と題する絵本やアニメーションにおいて「涙」の表現は変わってしまっている。心の象徴としての涙は描かれず、かぐや姫は最初からよく笑い、よく泣く少女として描かれる。『竹取物語』においては「泣く」という言葉の主体は主に翁とかぐや姫であり、嫗に使われるのはわずか二例であるのに対して、現代版の「かぐや姫」では翁は泣いておらず、嫗だけが泣いているという表現のものも少なくない。映画「かぐや姫の物語」においてこうしたかぐや姫と嫗との密接な関係は顕著であり、映画で翁が流す涙は自らのせいでかぐや姫が月に帰ってしまうことを後悔する涙である。「涙」の表現を通して、『竹取物語』の主題と虚構性は明確になる。そして、そうした『竹取物語』の意義が現代の「かぐや姫」には見られないことも、「涙」の表現を通して明らかになる。departmental bulletin pape
Hume's 'Four Essays on Happiness': A Dialogue with Ancient Hellenistic Philosophy
Get PDFThis paper aims to analyze Hume's four essays on happiness in Essays Morals, Political, and Literary. The titles of these four essays are named after the ancient philosophical schools, 'The Epicurean', 'The Stoic', 'The Platonist', and 'The Sceptic'. They focus on the condition of human happiness. This paper considers the relationship between Hume and ancient Hellenistic philosophy through the analysis of these essays.
First, as a background, in the eighteenth-century British intellectual milieu, philosophers were apt to call their positions or those of their opponents by the name of ancient Hellenistic schools. In this context, Hume tends to show his antipathy to the Stoic school, and so he is generally thought to be an Epicurean, while his ancestor and rival Francis Hutcheson brought a kind of 'Christian Stoicism' into fashion. This paper treats the problem whether Hume spoke for Epicureanism when analyzing Hume's essays named after ancient Hellenistic schools.
The composition of four essays on happiness takes a form of the first-person monologue in personification. Hume recommends readers to read them together, and so these essays can be read as a sort of dialogue among personified speakers.
So far, it seemed to be thought that Hume speaks for the Sceptic because this essay is longest and has a different way of speaking than the other three essays. However, Hume presents the way of tranquilization of our passions in our reading texts by placing opposite characters in proper contrast. Followed this way, Hume's four essays should be read in a dialogic way, in other words, the exercise of contrasting these opposite characters from a comprehensive viewpoint.
As an example, Matthew Walker tried to reconcile the Stoic and the Sceptic by his exact reading of Hume's essays. According to him, Hume accepts both views partially, because his 'sceptical' pluralism about the character of the happiest life does not conflict with his advocacy of the supreme happiness of the true philosopher. In the same way, this paper showed that Hume does not completely speak for the Epicurean and tries to reconcile the Epicurean and the Stoic. This is because, although Hume indeed adopts the Epicurean way of explaining the origin of justice and the natural environment surrounding us, he simultaneously admits the holistic character of justice, to which the Stoic subscribes.departmental bulletin pape
Real-time and Apparent-time Changes in Semantics: Japanese Classifiers Tested across Generations and after a Quarter Century
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Effectiveness of Ethical Norms under the Circumstances of the Development of Information and Communication Technology: From the Views of Information Ethics and Risk Society Theory
Get PDFScience and technology, including Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has developed rapidly through the process of modernization. Has this process influenced ethical norms? If so, how did the relationship between people and society change as its result? The purpose of this paper is to consider these questions from the perspective of information ethics and risk society theory in sociology.
“Information ethics” is part of the first-year curriculum at many universities in Japan. But to what degree can it be effective? Moreover, is information ethics itself really effective to solve the problems related to ICT? To discuss these questions, it is necessary to understand the background and the context of a contemporary society under the development of ICT. Risk society theory can be useful in analyzing this issue because it focuses on the characters, patterns, processes and results of modernization in relation to the effects and the side effects of science and technology.
Anthony Giddens points out that the contemporary situation is not the end of modernity or postmodernity. This situation is a result of radicalization of modernity, which is called reflexive modernization. According to him, reflexivity of modern social life consists in the fact that social practices are constantly examined and reformed in the light of incoming information about those very practices, thus constitutively altering their character. ICT is exactly a driving force of reflexivity of modernity.
Giddens also indicates that the relationship between experts and the lay changes through a process of the shift to a risk society. The stability of the expert system is based on the unconscious trust in it, which is called faceless commitment. The interpersonal communication between experts and the lay, which Giddens calls facework commitment, supports a faceless commitment. However, people do not necessarily trust the expert system anymore in a risk society as experts cannot predict and prevent the accidents caused by science and technology. ICT is a typical example.
Ulrich Beck expects ethics to play a role in the process of decision-making in a risk society, but he does not show its necessary conditions. On the contrary, from the standpoint of information ethics, ethical norms do not function well today. Niklas Luhmann explains its reason from a sociological view. According to him, functional differentiation is a character of modernization. Each social system became independent through the process of modernization, and morality lacked the ability to control these systems. He also says that ethics cannot bridge between the decision-makers and those affected by them. Therefore, he is skeptical of the role of ethics in a risk society.
Problems of ICT and issues discussed in information ethics can be grasped in a unified way by referring to risk society theory. Although authors such as Giddens, Beck and Luhmann point out various concerns, each of them focuses on different aspects of risk society by analyzing reflexivity.departmental bulletin pape
Japan’s Closed Civil Service System and Possibility of Open Announcement Method: Future of Membership-based Personnel System
Get PDFThis paper will explore the future of Japan’s civil service system by examining the possibility of introducing open announcement method (kobosei) as a next step of the long-lasting civil service reform. In the background, the Japanese government is now facing challenges of a declining number of applicants for public service positions and an increasing separation of young promising officials from service. These are not only real issues for practical reform but also theoretically important topics in terms of the transformation of the civil service system.
Japan’s civil service system is characterized by an all-at-once recruitment, a closed appointment system within the public sector, a strong job security, and a generalist-oriented, membership-based personnel system. While it is a historically developed organic system that cannot be changed in a short period, it is not impossible to transplant the Western job-based open announcement method. This system has partly been adopted by some Japanese companies and met the changing needs from both employers and employees. Japan’s traditional membership-based personnel system requires employees to be engaged in all sorts of jobs in exchange for a life-long guarantee of the “membership.” It enables a strong commitment from staff members but often causes long working hours and frequent unexpected transfers. On the other hand, the Western-based personnel system requires clear and detailed job descriptions and a relatively long announcement-application-examination period. In the U.S. Federal Government, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) handles this complex selection processes for senior executive service (SES) and it takes up to three months for each case. One question here is whether the Japanese government can afford to put more time, energy and human resources to make the present personnel system more transparent, objective, rational and scientific.
Having introduced recent surveys by the National Personnel Authority (NPA) on the attitude of civil servants toward their work and life, the author will examine the job-based appointment system of the U. S. Federal Government and recent changes in the higher civil service of the British government as solution models.
NPA surveys show an increasing number of negative responses in staff motivation, fringe benefits, future prospects, and sense of security after retirement. Moreover, there are problems concerning a heavier workload, weaker staff allocation and fewer opportunities to realize that they are truly serving the nation. A large majority is feeling dissatisfaction with career development, acquiring new expertise, or work-life balance (especially concerning the limited time for childcare). Since the fundamental reason for this dissatisfaction lies in the absolute shortage of staff members in the public sector, it is unrealistic to add new staff just to introduce a new open announcement method. However, both central and local governments have adopted open announcement-application-appointment method for some fixed term positions that are necessary for public service delivery.
Lastly, the author will discuss the change in the passive attitude of Japan’s higher civil servants in terms of applying or expressing wishes for certain positions. They seem to have had passion for public service under the membership-based personnel system, for they were willing to accept any tough tasks, unlimited workload, or unexpected transfers. However, survey results show that this system is becoming unsustainable because the resources to compensate workers, such as sufficient budget, attractive positions both before and after retirement, people’s respect, or autonomy from politics no longer exist. Checking the balance sheet of merits and demerits of working as a higher civil servant, it is unlikely that the young and brightest will positively choose to work for the government. Important things in the public service are the following: meeting real needs of the society, absorbing the voices of the street level bureaucracy, fair and rational allocation of jobs, relaxation of the present closed membership system, and describing various jobs for generalist administrators. The adoption of the announcement-applicationappointment method can be one of the solutions, which may lead to a change in the “kasumigaseki culture.”departmental bulletin pape
Teachers’ Questions to Promote Intercultural Understanding: A Case Study of Students’ Reflections on English Apologies
Get PDF多くの大学では留学など学生の海外派遣を含む国際交流が盛んに行われており，発前の学生を対象に 講座を開設して留学準備に対応している。講座はいずれも異文化でコミュニケーションを取ることを前提 に構成されている。本稿では教師の質問に対する，学習者の振り返りに現れる異文化理解の事例研究を 報告する。調査が行われた私立大学の留学準備講座では，日本語とアメリカ英語における謝罪の文化的 差異の理解を促すことを目的とし，教師が受講生に質問をした。二週間にわたり行った謝罪の授業の終了 後，教師の質問に対し，受講生が日本語で書いた振り返りを山本（2014）の日本版の感受性発達モデルに 基づいて分析した。その結果，教師が尋ねる質問の内容により，受講生の異文化理解に関する記述内容 に相違があることが判明した。思考を促す授業の実践を求められる教員も，指導内容に基づき，質問を使 い分けることで，学習者の深い思考のみならず異文化理解を高める指導に繋がる可能性を示唆する。
In recent years, a growing number of Japanese universities are engaged in cultural exchange, by having their students participate in a variety of study-abroad programs, both short- and long-term. To prepare the participants before their departure, institutions offer courses designed to help them become successful when they communicate with people in the host culture. This article deals with a case study, which focuses on students’ intercultural understanding which was revealed in their reflective writing in response to a teacher’s questions. In a study-abroad preparation course taught at a private Japanese university, two weeks were spent on teaching apologies in American English. After students wrote their post-instruction reflections in Japanese regarding the difference between the two apologies, their responses were analyzed based on Yamamoto’s (2014) adaptation of the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity. The results indicated that students’ writing varied, ranging from ethnocentric to ethnorelative stages, depending on the types of questions the teacher asked. Implications of this study include the need for teachers to be selective of the kinds of questions to ask in order to deepen, not only the students’ thinking, but also their intercultural understanding.departmental bulletin pape
Gender Issues in the Labor, Social System and Human Rights in Japan
Get PDF現在，日本は生活水準向上のため，高度な知識，スキルを必要とする知識基盤，実力主義社会である。 一方，日本では少子高齢化が急速に進み，雇用不足の撤回，高年齢者介護福祉が必須とされる。しかし， 男性中心の雇用，社会システムおいて，女性差別は深刻な問題である。1985 年の雇用機会均等法施行以 来，政府は雇用，社会システムにおける男女平等に全力を尽くしているが，教育の機会均等にもかかわ らず，日本の雇用，社会システムは依然として，男女不平等である。本稿は，まず雇用，社会システム における女性差別問題を明確にする。次に，政府がどのように女性差別問題に取り組んでいるかを探索 する。さらに，心理学的，社会学的立場から，日本女性の社会進出への可能性を探索する。本稿は特殊 文化を持つ日本社会における女性差別問題を論理的に提起し，女性の社会進出を社会の公生及び人権レ ベルで捉えることにおいて，有意義であろう。
Today Japan is a knowledge-based and performance-based society where demonstrating advanced knowledge, information, and skills are critical to success. Meanwhile, Japan is facing a sharp declining of the birthrate as well as societal aging, a combination which causes a labor shortage. In spite of the equal opportunity for education for all in Japan, the labor and social system stressing Japanese traditional gender roles certainly reveals gender inequality. Consequently, labor shortage and gender inequality in the labor and social system is a critical issue. The question is how to change a distorted gender perspective and take action for equity and human rights. Since the Equal Opportunity Law was enacted in 1985, the Japanese government has been striving to attain gender equality in the labor and social system. This paper will 1) clarify the gender issues in the labor and social system; 2) examine the government measures to attain gender equality in Japan; and 3) examine gender equality for equity and human rights from a psycho-sociological perspective. Advanced knowledge, information, and skills are needed to enhance equity in the labor and social system. Furthermore, there is a need for empowering the relationship between men and women that may help them to build a gender-equal society. Without a change of men’s consciousness about gender equality, there is no solution. This approach could benefit educators to find ways to attain gender equality and to empower the relationship between men and women in the labor and social system, which could result in attaining human rights in Japan.departmental bulletin pape
