著者

川田 耕

出版者

社会学研究会

雑誌

ソシオロジ (ISSN:05841380)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.39, no.2, pp.97-113,189, 1994-10-31 (Released:2017-02-15)

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Morality is generally something more than traditional practices. M.Foucault distinguishes the moralities between the "code-oriented" moralities, which have a system of traditonal practices and rules of behavior in detail, and the "ethics -oriented" moralities, in which such system and rulues are rather rudimentary and leave their function to each individual's retlective consciousness. In the latter case, each individual is required not only to have self-awareness but to make self-formation as "ethical subject". I think "the popular morality "in Japan which was named and investigated by Yasumaru Yoshio can be called ethics-oriennted morality, because this morality demands people should reform traditional practices and have reflective consciousness. The popular morality is ethical because of its great interest in each individual's consciousness and it is popular because of its premise that establishment of proper consciousness may bring some social profit. The popular morality depends on smooth circle of the moral doctrine, each individual's consciousness and the social profit. When this circle is not satisfactory, the existence of ethical subject is threatend,and the effects of morality tend to be code-oriented. I investigate such structure of this morality in early modern Japan (especially in the discourse of the "Rono" in the late Edo period and the "Hotokushugi" in the Meiji period), and search the transformation of it in the Meiji period and the possibility of creating new ethics.