When faced with a deadly natural disaster, can philosophy offer solace?
When faced with a deadly natural disaster, can philosophy offer solace?
At "philosophy cafes" in the Tohoku region and throughout Japan, groups of people have been discussing the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake.
At these cafes, people can engage in deep conversation with others, talking about their experiences and opinions as they try to comprehend the meaning and realities of the disaster.
On May 21, in a multipurpose space close to JR Fukushima Station, the first meeting of the "Philosophy Cafe @ Fukushima" took place. The theme was, "What does it mean to discuss philosophy during these times?" After paying 200 yen ($2.50) to join, the participants grabbed a coffee and took their seats.
"I didn't really want to start with this kind of theme," said Masao Onohara, Fukushima University professor and one of the hosts of the event.
To facilitate dialogue on an equal footing, all participants addressed each other using the honorific suffix "-san." One person expressing his feelings was a man who identified himself solely as Sato.
"Some really talented and able people lost their lives," the 23-year-old said. "For me to live through that ・I just don't know what to do."
A participant named Sugioka came from Soma city, where the coastal areas were hit hard by the tsunami.
"Why did we survive? Even when you ask survivors why they think they were chosen, it's hard to find an answer," Sugioka said.
Even when the participants are talking about such complexities as to the meaning of human life and death, it is difficult to get a discussion going. Yet there is more to philosophy than just using philosophical terminology to construct clever arguments.
"Everyday language is fantastic for talking about all kinds of universal ideas. Philosophy is powerful precisely because it involves discussion and asking questions," said Jun Watanabe, a teacher at Fukushima Commercial High School and a moderator at the cafe.
Another philosophy cafe in Miyagi Prefecture has reopened after a temporary hiatus. The group met at the end of April in a fast-food store close to JR Sendai Station. Tetsuya Nagamoto, a researcher at Tohoku University, was among those convening the "Sendai Philosophy Cafe" for the first time since 2010.
"My sister and I went to 10 small morgues until at last we were able to find the bodies of our parents," said a participant at the Sendai cafe. "The water from the tsunami reached the car's window when we were trying to escape."
Before the earthquake, the group had chosen "How should we use our time?" as the next topic, but at the April meeting it was decided to leave the theme open. This did not matter, though, as each participant spoke out about their earthquake experiences.
Sendai is also home to "Philosophy Cafe @ Sendai." This cafe will be reconvened on June 18 by the group's moderator Takahiro Nishimura, an associate professor at Tohoku Bunka Gakuen University.
"I don't know if philosophy can help people suffering right now, but maybe, in several years' time, these people will be able to find solace in some reflections they arrived at through philosophy," Nishimura said.
So what exactly are the participants looking for in these philosophy cafes?
According to Chuji Mori, one participant at the Philosophy Cafe @ Sendai, "dialogue" is the most important lifeline after food and gasoline.
"Humans cannot live without communication," said the 34-year-old Mori. "In order for us to have our existence validated by others, dialogue is essential. I think we can deepen and advance our understanding through discussion."
The first philosophy cafe to hit the public eye was established by the French philosopher Marc Sautet in 1992. The cafes began to spread throughout Japan in the 2000s with the establishment of Cafe Philo, an organization run by teachers and graduate students from Osaka University's clinical philosophy department.
The rules at each cafe are essentially the same, namely: Everyone can participate equally regardless of age or occupation; people must listen carefully to the opinions of others and must not force their own opinions on others; philosophical terminology must be avoided or, if used, must not be quoted at length. Familiar themes are chosen for discussion.
Affiliates of Cafe Philo also convened philosophical cafes in Osaka and Tokyo this May, with the topic of discussion once again being the earthquake. One proposition said to have been discussed was, "Do our prayers help the victims of the disaster?"
"Although we don't know when an earthquake might strike, we do know that we will probably experience one sooner or later," said Naoki Honma, associate professor at Osaka University. "The mission of philosophy is to make us think about things in the mid- to long-term. Philosophy cafes can provide us with a place for continual reflection."