The Moral and Political Naturalism of Baron Kato Hiroyuki

by Winston Davis

This monograph is a philosophical study of the later writings of the leading Social Darwinist of Meiji Japan, Baron Kato Hiroyuki (1836-1916). Although Kato often puts his ideas forward in a high-handed, dogmatic way, he engages the reader in an extensive philosophical argument. Philosophers today would call Kato Hiroyuki a "foundationalist". That is, he believed that it was possible to base morality and politics on knowable, natural principles. Although classical Social Darwinism is now a thing of the past, some thinkers in the West continue to show interest in the allegedly inescapable ontology imposed on the human race by nature or heredity or some combination of the two. Kato's writings are particularly interesting when read in this light.

138 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1996