Watsuji Tetsurō and the philosophy of “Being-in-Betweenness”
Kartavya Desk Staff
Context: Japanese philosopher Watsuji Tetsurō is being widely revisited in contemporary philosophy for offering a non-Western ethical framework that challenges individualistic notions of the self.
About Watsuji Tetsurō and the philosophy of “Being-in-Betweenness”:
Who he was?
• Watsuji Tetsurō (1889–1960) was a leading Japanese philosopher and ethicist of the 20th century.
• He was among the earliest Japanese scholars to critically engage with Western existentialism, writing on Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Heidegger, and Hegel.
• His major works include Fūdo (Climate and Culture) and Rinrigaku (Ethics), which laid the foundation of Japanese environmental and relational ethics.
Core philosophy:
• Critique of the Western self: Watsuji rejected the Western idea of the atomised, autonomous individual. He argued that Western ethics universalised a culturally specific European subject, often ignoring social, cultural, and ecological embeddedness.
• Watsuji rejected the Western idea of the atomised, autonomous individual.
• He argued that Western ethics universalised a culturally specific European subject, often ignoring social, cultural, and ecological embeddedness.
• Concept of ‘Ningen’: Humans are not isolated individuals but beings of “betweenness” (aida) — constituted through relationships with others, society, history, and nature. The self is simultaneously individual and collective, singular and plural.
• Humans are not isolated individuals but beings of “betweenness” (aida) — constituted through relationships with others, society, history, and nature.
• The self is simultaneously individual and collective, singular and plural.
• Emptiness and self-negation: Drawing from Mahayana Buddhism, Watsuji emphasised emptiness (śūnyatā) — the absence of a fixed essence. Ethical life requires self-negation, allowing space for others to exist and flourish.
• Drawing from Mahayana Buddhism, Watsuji emphasised emptiness (śūnyatā) — the absence of a fixed essence.
• Ethical life requires self-negation, allowing space for others to exist and flourish.
• Ethics as lived practice (Rinrigaku) Ethics is not abstract moral law but the study of how humans live relationally. Moral values emerge from concrete social practices, traditions, climate, and shared life.
• Ethics is not abstract moral law but the study of how humans live relationally.
• Moral values emerge from concrete social practices, traditions, climate, and shared life.
• Human–Nature relationship (Fūdo) Humans and environment are co-constitutive. Climate, geography, and culture shape ethical life — a precursor to environmental ethics.
• Humans and environment are co-constitutive.
• Climate, geography, and culture shape ethical life — a precursor to environmental ethics.
Relevance in the modern world:
• Environmental crisis: Counters anthropocentrism by stressing human embeddedness in nature.
• Mental health & alienation: Offers a relational view of self, opposing hyper-individualism.
• Decolonial philosophy: Challenges Western universalism and validates plural ethical traditions.
• Social ethics: Emphasises community, compassion, and mutual responsibility over egoism.
Relevance in UPSC Examination Syllabus:
• GS Paper IV – Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude
• Ethics and Human Interface: Relational self vs individualistic self Moral Thinkers: Non-Western ethical frameworks Values: Compassion, self-restraint, empathy, social responsibility Applied ethics: Environmental ethics, community-centric governance
• Ethics and Human Interface: Relational self vs individualistic self
• Moral Thinkers: Non-Western ethical frameworks
• Values: Compassion, self-restraint, empathy, social responsibility
• Applied ethics: Environmental ethics, community-centric governance
• Essay Paper:
• Themes like: “Man is a social being” “Development without ecological harmony is self-defeating” “Ethics rooted in culture rather than abstraction”
• Themes like: “Man is a social being” “Development without ecological harmony is self-defeating” “Ethics rooted in culture rather than abstraction”
• “Man is a social being”
• “Development without ecological harmony is self-defeating”
• “Ethics rooted in culture rather than abstraction”