Nishi Amane and Modern Japanese Thought (Princeton Legacy Library, 1488)

By Thomas R. H. Havens. Bibliography: P. 231-245. A nineteenth-century aristocrat, Nishi Amane (1829-1897) was one of the first Japanese to assert the supremacy of Western culture. He was sent by his government to Leiden to study the European social sciences; on his return to Japan shortly before the climactic Meiji Restoration of 1868 he introduced and adapted European utilitarianism and positivism to his country's intellectual world. To modernize, Nishi held, Japan must cast off the bonds of the Confucian world-view in order to adopt new principles of empirical scholarly investigation and new standards of self-improvement. Though a Confucian by upbringing, Nishi became thoroughly committed to Western intellectual values in his programs for the new Japanese society. In his roles of teacher, writer, and government administrator, he was influential at one of the most critical times in Japan’s history. Originally published in 1970. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905. Cover Contents Preface I. The Intellectual in Japan's Transition from Feudalism to Modernism II. The Early Development of Nishi's Thought III. Study Abroad and Service at Home IV. A Leader in Enlightening Japan V. Attack on Neo-Confucianism VI. Ethics for the New Society VII. Nishi on Politics and Current Events VIII. Civil and Military Society IX. Nishi and Modern Japan Biographical Notes List of Works Cited Index