Beyond Isolation: International Wittgenstein Workshop in Tokyo
Reached the funding target!
Thanks to the support of many people, we achieved the target amount! Thank you very much. After that, we aim for 1.5 million yen (≒ $14,000) as our next goal. If we can reach this amount, we could publish a collection of papers and conduct research activities for a second workshop. We look forward to your support.
Comment from academist staff
A new effort to build a platform for philosophers’ collaborative studies
academist Shimojo
Why Hold a Physical Workshop in the Time of Crisis?
We, Saori Makino and Shuhei Kimoto, are philosophy researchers based in Japan. The goal of our crowdfunding project is to hold a workshop which we had to postpone due to the ongoing global pandemic of Covid-19.
The workshop, entitled “Wittgenstein and Traditional German Philosophy” was originally going to be held in April 2020 in Tokyo.
As stated above, the original workshop had to be postponed due to the ongoing global pandemic. Even now, the end of this nightmare is not in sight.
It has become part of the “new normality” that academic workshops are held as online events. So, you might wonder why we are nevertheless trying to organize a physical workshop in this time of crisis, even launching a crowdfunding project like this?
Our answer is that, precisely because we are in the middle of a crisis, holding a physical workshop has an irreplaceable value. Certainly, online workshops are advantageous in that people around the world can easily participate in academic events. However, it seems that the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic has gradually reduced the motivation of researchers to join them.
Maintaining motivation is now a critical issue for scholars around the world, especially for those who are forced to work in isolation. There are limits to individual efforts. It is urgently needed an opportunity to create new connections with other researchers and share a positive future. This is the reason why it is highly important to increase their motivation with the goal of participating in the future workshop.
Is our project too detached from reality? We say it isn’t. What we should do is to actively plan for the future we wish to see, not just adapt ourselves to the present situation. By doing so, we act upon our future and even change the perception of the present situation in which we are placed.
Many researchers are motivated to set a goal of holding the conference and prepare for it even when the prospects are uncertain. We will hold the international workshop in Tokyo after next April. Even if the next workshop might be postponed again, we will aim to hold it after 2022.
Why a Wittgenstein Workshop in Japan?
We aim to establish, maintain, and develop a Japan-based platform for the study of Western philosophy in Asia. Utilizing the workshop as a springboard for exchange among scholars, we can bring together physically isolated philosophers around the world and create international collaborations. We will continue our efforts to hold regular workshops and maintain a mailing list.
In future, this platform will bring together hundreds of philosophers scattered around the world. to participate in regular workshops and exchange ideas, with the aim of generating research results through international collaboration. This international workshop is the first step towards this major goal.
Unlike conventional international workshops in Japan, which are usually held in closed sessions with a limited number of participants, we have decided to invite presenters from an international mailing list. If this workshop is successful, it can provide a solution to the two issues mentioned above, namely, “exchange with Asian scholars” and “making the activities of Japanese philosophers known to foreign scholars”.
Why Crowdfunding?
We aim to hold the workshop next year. However, if the situation forces us to postpone the workshop again, we shall hold it in 2022 or later. However, this irregular situation cannot be handled with the existing type of research funds (i.e. government or university-based). This is why crowdfunding is the only solution for us. We hope that you will understand the plight of researchers in current situations and support us.
The cost of the workshop is primarily for travel and accommodation for the participants. Many of the participants, both domestic and international, find it difficult or insecure to raise funds. In addition, personnel expenses for the staff who set up the venue for the event are necessary. We also need to cover the cost of publishing the results of the international workshop as a collection of papers, with the aim of developing it as a platform.
What we hope to achieve by holding the workshop is to expand the network of exchange between scholars, which is often limited to a single region, to reach out to the mainstream of philosophy (or Wittgenstein studies) in the Anglo-American and German-speaking world, as well as to the research being done in various regions.
Connections with Scholars around the World Bring New Philosophical Researches
We are now working together with researchers in Germany, the Czech Republic, and Poland. This will enable us to cooperate across disciplines and borders. Cooperation with scholars around the world has a very significant process in the study of Western philosophy. However, two challenges remain in order to make these connections.
First, while it is relatively easy for Japanese scholars to make connections with researchers in European countries, it is difficult to make connections with researchers in Asia. Second, while it is possible to reach out to Anglo-American and European scholars from Japan, it is often challenging to do the opposite. It takes a lot of effort to get people interested in the activities of Japanese researchers.
The solution to these problems is to hold an international workshop in Tokyo. In 2019, Saori Makino (one of the challengers) participated in an international workshop “Wittgenstein and Hegel” held in the Czech Republic. The theme of the international workshop is so historically and philosophically imposing that it requires the collaboration of various scholars. The workshop called into question how to proceed philosophical inquiry, which was often assumed to be carried out on an individual basis. We need to build connections across specific individuals, particular disciplines, and specific countries in international workshops.
Wittgenstein [ST1] studies have had a significant impact in Europe, especially in the United Kingdom (British Wittgenstein Society), Austria (Austrian Ludwig Wittgenstein Society, Wittgenstein Initiative), Germany (Internationale Ludwig Wittgenstein Gesellschaft) and Finland (Nordic Wittgenstein Society). These organizations have their own specialized journals. There are unique Wittgenstein scholars in different cities who pursue their own particular concerns.
Wittgenstein studies have been conducted in Japan as well. Japanese readers can read Wittgenstein’s major works in their own language. Surprisingly, there are nine different translations of the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, and it has inspired many people beyond the inner circle of academia. Wittgenstein has encouraged people to try to think philosophically in Japanese.
[ST1]Wittgenstein (1889-1951) is a philosopher who was born in Vienna at the end of the 19th century. He is uniquely positioned to have a strong influence on contemporary analytical philosophy. Due to the WWⅡ, Wittgenstein was forced into exile and accepted at the University of Cambridge in England. He was getting an influential philosopher, primarily in English-speaking world. On the other hand, his posthumous writings, with the exception of his lecture transcripts, were written almost entirely in German. In other words, he is a philosopher who continued to think in his mother tongue, German, even though he was working abroad in England.
Profile
Shuhei Kimoto、Saori Makino
Shuhei Kimoto: Initially, I wanted to go into philosophy just because I thought philosophy was cool. However, it is only recently that I’ve developed a philosophical mindset. Once you start to see your surroundings philosophically, you realize that the problems of philosophy are everywhere. For example, they are present in other academic practices such as law, engineering, biology, and so on, as well as in our daily lives. A popular picture of philosophy is that it is somehow esoteric, but this is not true; rather, its power lies in extracting ubiquitous conceptual structures. That is, doing philosophy offers the possibility of integration in a variety of intellectual endeavors as well. I believe philosophy is one of the definitely essential human activities to live in the world, that is, to engage with the world through concepts.
Project timeline
| Date | Plans |
|---|---|
| December 2020 | The Deadline for Crowdfunding |
| January 2021 |
Call for Papers
|
| June 2021 |
Hold the Workshop
|
| June 2022 |
Release a Research Report
|
Pledge Rewards
After the workshop, we will send you a research report based on the discussions that take place on the days of the workshop. (In case the workshop is postponed to 2022 or later, the report could be delayed as well.)
This return is roughly equivalent to US $ 10
Research Report
92 supporters are supporting with this reward. （No quantity limit）
After the workshop, we will send you a research report based on the discussions that take place on the days of the workshop. (In case the workshop is postponed to 2022 or later, the report could be delayed as well.)
This return is roughly equivalent to US $ 50
Research Report
42 supporters are supporting with this reward. （No quantity limit）
You will be invited to the online seminar “Wittgenstein and Traditional German Philosophy”. It will be a preparatory event for the workshop.
This return is roughly equivalent to US $ 100
Right to attend online seminar / Research Report
30 supporters are supporting with this reward. （No quantity limit）
Your name will be listed on the workshop’s website as a funder. And if you apply to this workshop as a presenter, your participation is free.
This return is roughly equivalent to US $ 300
Listing your name on the workshop website/ Fee exemption for the workshop / Right to attend online seminar / Research Report
4 supporters are supporting with this reward. （No quantity limit）
Your name will be listed on the workshop’s website as a funder. And if you apply to this workshop as a presenter, your participation is free.
This return is roughly equivalent to US $ 500
Listing your name on the workshop website/ Fee exemption for the workshop / Right to attend online seminar / Research Report
2 supporters are supporting with this reward. （No quantity limit）
Your name will be listed on the workshop’s website as a funder. And if you apply to this workshop as a presenter, your participation is free.
This return is roughly equivalent to US $ 1000
Listing your name on the workshop website/ Fee exemption for the workshop / Right to attend online seminar / Research Report
4 supporters are supporting with this reward. （No quantity limit）
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Research Report
92
supporters
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（No quantity limit）
Research Report and others
42
supporters
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Right to attend online seminar and others
30
supporters
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（No quantity limit）
Listing your name on the workshop website/ Fee exemption for the workshop and others
4
supporters
back
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Listing your name on the workshop website/ Fee exemption for the workshop and others
2
supporters
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Listing your name on the workshop website/ Fee exemption for the workshop and others
4
supporters
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（No quantity limit）
academist Prize 2nd adopted
