Natsume Sōseki's Unique Philosophy of Jiko-hon'i (Self-Centeredness)

Hirofumi IWASHITA

doi:10.20613/hikaku.61.0_91

Jiko-hon'i (self-centeredness) is a term in “My Individualism" (Watakushi no Kojinshugi) that Natsume Sōseki adopted to clarify his fundamental stance toward literature. A plethora of previous studies have, in fact, demonstrated the importance of this attitude, mainly focusing on Sōseki's personal narratives. There is, however, one aspect of this concept that has yet to be clarified. Sōseki repeatedly implied that jiko-hon'i is an attitude that is supported, or even proven, by a certain theory, but he never specified or gave an account of such a theory.　This paper contends that William James's theory of psychology in his famous work, The Principles of Psychology, inspired Sōseki's concept of jikohon'i. Since Sōseki meticulously discussed James's psychology in his essay, “The Attitude of a Creative Artist" (Sōsakuka no Taido), examining its content in detail gives us a perspective on how James's theory can be said to support Sōseki's underlying attitude. James maintains that our mind, because of our habits of attention, always either chooses or rejects, and that not only our experience but also the world itself is what we agree to attend to. This point of view is pivotal for Sōseki. Once it is clear that Sōseki's jiko-hon'i is based on James's rather radical idea, jiko-hon'i itself should also be viewed as a far more drastic philosophy than has been previously considered. Furthermore, this insight can elucidate why his later novels persistently tackle the problem of human relationships.

Natsume Sōseki's Unique Philosophy of <i>Jiko-hon'i</i> (Self-Centeredness)

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