Takao Ito | Faculty List | Soka University

Professor

Takao Ito

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Faculty of Letters Department of Human Studies

Graduate School of Graduate School of Letters Humanities Major

Ikeda Research Institute for Soka Education

Specialized Field	Philosophy, History of Thought, History of Art and Culture
Research theme	Research on the relationship between art, culture, and human society, with philosophy as its core. Focusing on German philosophy and modern Japanese thought, this project explores the questions of "What is a human being?" and "What does it mean to live a fulfilling life?"
Subjects in charge	Introduction to the philosophy of art, aesthetics and art history, an invitation to philosophy and religious studies, etc.
Seminar Theme	This program interdisciplinaryally explores philosophy, thought, and arts and culture, prompting students to consider "what it means to be human" and "what value is." In addition to classical philosophy, it also incorporates art, music, and literature, seeking to understand the nature of humanity, art, and society. Classics covered so far: Plato's Republic, Descartes' Discourse on Method, Spinoza's Ethics, Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, Groundwork of Metaphysics of Morals, Critique of Judgment, and Toward Perpetual Peace, Schopenhauer's The World as Will and Representation, Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Kanzo Uchimura's Representative Japanese, Shuzo Kuki's The Structure of "Iki", etc.
Main career, work history, and academic background	Born in Kumamoto Prefecture Graduated from Soka University, Faculty of Letters, Department of Humanities Completed doctoral program at the Graduate School of Letters Humanities Major Graduate School of the same university Doctor of Humanities Visiting Researcher at the Schopenhauer Institute, University of Mainz Professor at Soka University Faculty of Letters Institute of Oriental Philosophy Researcher
Affiliated academic societies and organizations	The Philosophical Society of Japan, the Existential Thought Association, the Japanese Society for the History of Thought, the Japan Kant Society, the Japan Fichte Society, the Japan Schopenhauer Society, the Japan Dewey Society, etc.
Main Papers and Publications	'Beethoven Philosophizing – From Kantian Cosmology to the Ninth Symphony –' (Kodansha Sensho Metier, 2025) "Neo-Kantian Philosophy and Modern Japan - Reception and Development -" (Editor, Institute of Oriental Philosophy, 2025) "Schliemann and Hachioji – Captivated by the Silk Town" (Editor, Daisan Bunmeisha, 2022) "Aiming for the Revival of Humanities – An Invitation to Human Studies" (co-editor, Keiso Shobo, 2018) 'Goethe=Schiller Correspondence Collection (Vol. 1 & 2)' (co-translated, Ushio Publishing, 2016) 'Schopenhauer: The Philosophy of Military Service Refusal - War, Law, and State -' (Koyo Shobo, 2014), etc.
Message	"Through suffering to joy" (Beethoven) Let's explore together, through philosophy and art, what it means to be human and how we should live.
others	Hobbies: Reading, listening to classical music, visiting art museums and museums Email: itotakao@soka.ac.jp

Specialized Field	philosophy Intellectual History
Research theme	The history of the influence of Kant's philosophy: 1) Metaphysics (Schopenhauer, etc.), 2) Ethics (Fichte, etc.), 3) Aesthetics (Schiller, etc.), 4) Anthropology (Pestalozzi, etc.)
research content	In his graduation thesis, he dealt with Kant, and in his master's and doctoral thesis he dealt with Schopenhauer, one of Kant's critical successors. The fundamental theme was the theory of freedom, and in his doctoral thesis he attempted to reinterpret modern German philosophy, focusing on social historical issues such as law, the state, power, and war. Major works "Schopenhauer's Philosophy of Refusal to Conscription: War, Law, and the State" (Koyoshobo, 2014) "Toward a Revival of the Humanities: An Invitation to Human Studies" (co-editor, Keiso Shobo, 2018) Selected Papers "Fichte's Reception of Pestalozzi" (Proceedings of the Japan Pestalozzi-Froebel Society - Explorations of Human Education - No. 22, 2010) "Is the denial of will the denial of morality?" (Riso No. 687, Risosha, 2011) "The Origin of Kant's Theory of World Citizenship" (Contemporary Kant Studies, Vol. 12, 2012) "Hegel and Schopenhauer" (Hegel Philosophical Studies, No. 18, 2012) "The Reception of Schopenhauer's Philosophy and its Era" (Existential Thought Collection, Vol. 33, 2018) Main translation "The Complete Works of Hermann Hesse 4: Under the Wheel, Stories" (co-translated, Rinkawa Shoten, 2005) "Hermann Hesse: Essay Collection 8: Criticism of the Times" (co-translated, Rinkawa Shoten, 2010) Goethe-Schiller Letters (vol. 1 and 2) (co-translated, Ushio Publishing, 2016)
Research and Education Policy	I would like to conduct research into the social history of German humanism, taking into account Kant's critical successors, like Schopenhauer, such as Fichte, Schiller, and Herbart, and to explore the history of the reception of Kant's social philosophy, including among modern Japanese thinkers such as Uchimura Kanzō, Tomonaga Sanjūrō, and Minobe Tatsukichi. Our educational policy, when reading philosophical texts in their original form, is to encourage careful reading, as if reading the weight of "history" and "society" behind each and every word and listening to the author's breathing.
Message	I want you to value your own awareness of problems and intellectual interests in your research. As the etymology of philosophy suggests, it is an activity of "love of knowledge," so I want you to remember the joy of thoroughly exploring the things you want to know.
others	We would like students to not only read books but also to actively discuss them both in and out of class. In addition, since we place importance on reading original texts in class, we would like students to study not only English but also modern Western languages such as German and French.

Research theme	A study of the ideological history of Soka education

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