Lifestudies.org was established in 1999 to promote discussion on life studies, philosophy of life, environmental ethics, bioethics, gender studies, and criticism of contemporary civilization. This site contains papers, essays, and other materials written by Masahiro Morioka and other authors.
Masahiro Morioka, the administrator, is a professor of philosophy and ethics at Waseda University , and the editor-in-chief of Journal of Philosophy of Life.
The administrator's main research fields are "life studies" and "philosophy of life." Life studies is an attempt to acquire the intellectual
capacity, wisdom and systematically organized knowledge from a variety
of disciplines needed to live our limited lives without regret. Philosophy of life is an academic discipline that deals with philosophical issues surrounding life, death, and nature.
Is Meaning in Life Comparable?
: From the Viewpoint of ‘The Heart of Meaning in Life’ (2015)
The aim of this paper is to propose a new approach to the question of meaning in life by criticizing Thaddeus Metz’s objectivist theory in his book Meaning in Life: An Analytic Study. I demonstrate that “the heart of meaning in life” cannot be compared with other people’s meaning in life.
Feminism, Disability, and Brain Death: Alternative Voices from Japanese Bioethics (2015)
In this paper, the ideas of “the swaying of the confused self” in the field of feminism, “inner eugenic thought” concerning disability, and “human relationship-oriented approaches to brain death” that appeared in Japanese bioethics are discussed.
Why Beyond Bioethics?: The Reaction of a Japanese Philosopher to American Bioethics (2015)
-- New Perspectives in Japanese Bioethics, pp.73-86. (You can read some parts of the paper on Google Books. The full paper will be uploaded to Lifestudies.org soon.)
A Phenomenological Study of “Herbivore Men” (2013)
"Herbivore men" is a term that became a buzzword in Japan in 2008-2009. It refers to gentle young men who are not very assertive in love and sex. This paper illustrates the outline of this phenomenon from the viepoint of gender studies.
How a Japanese Philosopher Encountered Bioethics (2013)
I illustrate how a Japanese philosopher reacted to a newly imported discipline, “bioethics,” in the 1980s and then tried to create an alternative way of looking at “life” in the field of philosophy. This essay might serve as an interesting case study in which a contemporary “western” way of thinking succeeded in capturing, but finally failed to persuade, a then-young Japanese researcher’s mind.
Why is It Hard for Us to Accept Moral Bioenhancement?: Comment on Savulescu’s Argument (2013)
This paper criticizes Julian Savulescu and his colleagues’ argument on moral bioenhancement. Our personality ought to be constructed upon our inner foundation, which should not be tampered with by outside intervention or control, and I dare say this belief is a healthy one that should not be overturned.
Journal of Philosophy of Life
A peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in the philosophy of life, death, and nature, published by the Research Institute for Contemporary Philosophy of Life.
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