Papers and Essays (including book chapters)
Philosophy of Life
In Search of a Philosophy of Life in Contemporary Society: An Introduction(2010)
A brief introduction to our "philosophy of life" project. Written in 2008.
Natural Right to Grow and Die in the Form of Wholeness: A Philosophical Interpretation of the Ontological Status of Brain-dead Children. (forthcoming in 2010)
A Introduction to Philosophy of Life (forthcoming in 2011)
The Concept of Inochi (Life) (1991)
"Inochi" is one of the most important words in the Japanese language. This word means "life," "spirit," and "nature." The Japanese grasp the idea of "human life" in relationship with that of "nature." While this paper analyzes the images of life and nature among contemporary Japanese, you can find some universal imagery and concepts there. (The file is divided into two parts).
Cross-cultural Approaches to the Philosophy of Life in the Contemporary World: From Bioethics to Life Studies (2004)
The first aim of this essay is to criticize the East/West dichotomy found in some bioethics literatures. The second aim is to briefly overview the scope of "life studies."
Painless Civilization
Painless Civilization and Fundamental Sense of Security: A Philosophical Challenge in the Age of Human Biotechnology (2005)
An outline of philosophical ideas proposed in the book, Painless Civilization (2003). Ideas of a "fundamental sense of security", "the disappearance of belief in love", "preventive reduction of pain" and other important concepts are briefly discussed. This text serves as a good introduction to Morioka's philosophy.
Painless Civilization: A Philosophical Critique of Desire, Translation of Chapter 1 (Book, 2003)
The most controversial book I have ever written. The endless tendency to eliminate pain and suffering makes us totally lose sight of the meaning of life that is indispensable to human beings. How to battle against painless civilization? A new concept called "painless civilization" is introduced, and our contemporary civilization is fundamentally criticized. You can see a revolutionary idea about the philosophy of desire. Korean translation was published in 2005. English translation is under way very slowly.
Morioka as a philosopher
The Structure of the Inner Life of a Philosopher: The Multi-Layered Aspects of Speech (1998, translated from Japanese)
This essay illustrates the development of Morioka's philosophy from his boyhood to the mid-1990s. You can see why I was enthusiastic about life studies, bioethics, Wittgenstein, media studies, and manga. Written in 1995 and published in 1998.
>>Ulrike WÖHR, Die Ambivalenz des Lebens und die Unmöglichkeit der Religion: MORIOKA MASAHIRO und Seine SEIMEIGAKU (The Ambivalence of Life and the Impossibility of Religion: Morioka Masahiro and his Seimeigaku(Life Studies))(2001)
Professor Ulrike WÖHR criticized Morioka's works 1988-1999 from the viewpoint of religious studies and Japanese studies. Published in 2001 in German.
Reconsidering Brain Death
Reconsidering Brain Death: A Lesson from Japan's Fifteen Years of Experience (2001)
The Japanese Transplantation Law is unique among others in that it allows us to choose between "brain death" and "traditional death" as our death. In every country 20 to 40 % of the popularion doubts the idea of brain death. This paper reports the ongoing revision process of the current law. Published in Hastings Center Report. See also Special Report on brain death.
Brain Dead Person, Translation of Chapter 1, 2, 5, 7 (Book, 1989)
This is a book that helped shift the Japanese discussion on brain death from "brain-centered analysis" to "human relationship oriented analysis." Brain death is redefined as a form of human relationships between a comatose patient and the people surrounding him/her. I paid special attention to the emotional aspect and the inner reality of the family members of a brain dead person, because sometimes the family members at the bedside, touching the warm body of the patient, express the feeling that the brain dead person still continues to exist as a living human being. This approach, published more than 20 years ago, has deeply influenced Japanese bioethics, and would probably have a capacity to influence English bioethics, too. (Commentary on "Brain Dead Person" Chapter 1 by Robert D. Truog, MD)
Is it Morally Acceptable to Remove Organs from Brain-Dead Children? (2007)
Children have the right not to be exploited by the desires of adults. When a child has said nothing about what should be done in the event of their own brain death, we must affirm that he or she has a right to live and die peacefully, fully protected against the interests of others. Published in The Lancet.
A Proposal for Revision of the Organ Transplantation Law Based on A Child Donor’s Prior Declaration (2001)
This is the translation of the so-called Morioka&Sugimoto proposal on brain death and transplantation. We proposed that the prior declaration of a brain dead child should be respected, and that when the child does not have a donor card the organ removal should be prohibited. Important material for understanding an unprecedented bioethics debate now occurring in Japan. See also Special Report on brain death.
Current Debate on the Ethical Issues of Brain Death (2004)
An overview of Japanese debate on child brain death.
Two Aspects of Brain Dead Being (2000) This paper summarizes an essence of my "brain death as a form of human relationships" theory. We should never overlook the discrepancy between scientific reality and our emotional/spiritual reality. Written in poor English.
Gender and Sexuality
The Insensitive Man: A Philosophical Essay on Male Sexuality, Translation of Chapter 1 (Book, 2005)
A philosophical analysis of male sexuality, especially men's sexual insensitivity, their self-denial of their bodies, and their desire of little girls and school uniforms. This book has provoked a variety of emotional reactions from the readers, scholars, and mass media. One of the most important books in Japanese men's studies.
What do We Learn from Japanese Feminist Bioethics? (1998)
Japanese grssroots bioethics was launched as feminist bioethics in the early 1970s, which is fairly different from bioethics in the English speaking world before 1990s. This essay is a brief outline of Chapter 3 of the book, Life Studies Approaches to Bioethics.
Bioethics
The Ethics of Human Cloning and the Sprout of Human Life (2006)
In Japan, not only people who object to human cloning, but also many of those who seek to promote research on human cloning admit that a human embryo is the sprout of human life and, hence, it should be highly respected. Why?
Disability Movement and Inner Eugenic Thought: A Philosophical Aspect of Independent Living and Bioethics (2002)
Criticism of eugenic thought from the perspective of "self-affirmation" and "the fundamental sense of security." What did disabled people think about life and technology in the 1970s? Written in poor English.
Bioethics and Japanese Culture (1995)
This paper illustrates how modern medical technology and traditional culture&religion clash in the midst of an industrialized, high-tech society, such as Japan. A Japanese debate on brain death and organ transplantation is examined from the viewpoint of comparative culture.
Toward International and Cross-cultural Bioethics (1994)
We need "an international, cross-cultural, more feminist, more environmentally oriented study of life, science and society."
List of papers and essays in Japanese (More than 100 pieces)
You can read Morioka's papers and essays written in Japanese
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