1001Philosophers

Maruyama Masao 1914 – 1996

Maruyama Masao (1914 – 1996) was a Japanese philosopher of the Contemporary era, associated with Political Philosophy and Continental Philosophy.

Maruyama Masao was the most influential Japanese political philosopher of the postwar period and a long-time professor at the University of Tokyo. His Studies in the Intellectual History of Tokugawa Japan reconstructed the modern political consciousness already nascent in early modern Confucian and nativist thought, while his postwar essays, gathered in Thought and Behaviour in Modern Japanese Politics, anatomized the diffuse system of irresponsibility that had made wartime militarism possible. He defended the new postwar constitution and the project of an autonomous democratic subject against the lingering ethos of submission to the family-state.

Key facts

Nationality
Japanese
Era
Contemporary
Movements
Political Philosophy, Continental Philosophy

Selected quotes

  • Attributed to Maruyama Masao:

    “The pathology of Japanese fascism was a system of irresponsibility, in which everyone obeyed and no one decided.”

  • Attributed to Maruyama Masao:

    “Democracy is a discipline; it is not a gift.”

  • Attributed to Maruyama Masao:

    “Modernity is the moment at which the subject discovers that it must legitimize the order in which it lives.”

  • Attributed to Maruyama Masao:

    “To be a citizen is to refuse to be merely a subject.”

  • Attributed to Maruyama Masao:

    “We are still groping for the autonomous individual.”

Frequently asked about Maruyama Masao

When did Maruyama Masao live?
Maruyama Masao was born in 1914 and died in 1996.
Where was Maruyama Masao from?
Maruyama Masao was a Japanese philosopher of the Contemporary era.
What philosophical movements is Maruyama Masao associated with?
Maruyama Masao was associated with Political Philosophy and Continental Philosophy.
What was Maruyama Masao known for?
Maruyama Masao was the most influential Japanese political philosopher of the postwar period and a long-time professor at the University of Tokyo.
How many quotes are attributed to Maruyama Masao?
There are 5 attributed quotations from Maruyama Masao in the 1001Philosophers collection, organized by topic.