About This Site
Lifestudies.Org is a website run by Masahiro Morioka, a professor of philosophy and ethics at Waseda University, and the editor-in-chief of Journal of Philosophy of Life. He proposes new philosophical disciplines: philosophy of life and life studies.
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Philosophy of Life and Life Studies
Philosophy of life is an academic discipline that deals with philosophical issues surrounding life, death, and nature. Life studies is a study method that can only be accomplished by "never detaching oneself from the subject being investigated".
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Books
List of books (21 books)
English Books
Recent Japanese Books
Papers and Essays
List of papers and essays
> Recently Uploaded Texts
Manga and Philosophy
: Why Was the Book “Manga Introduction to Philosophy” Written? (2015)
A PowerPoint PDF presentated at the
first conference of the European Network on Japanese Philosophy, Barcelona, Spain.
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.
Human Dignity and the Manipulation of the Sense of Happiness: From the Viewpoint of Bioethics and Philosophy of Life (2012)
A life with dignity means a life in which we are able to explore our own life, equipped with both happiness and unhappiness, without regret, through relationships with others, without being exploited by the desires of anyone, and without being dominated by our own desires.
Natural Right to Grow and Die in the Form of Wholeness: A Philosophical Interpretation of the Ontological Status of Brain-dead Children (2011)
Growing human beings have the right to grow in the form of wholeness, and dying human beings also have the right to die in the form of wholeness; in other words, they have the right to be protected from outside invasion, unless they have declared their wish to abandon that right beforehand. I call this the principle of wholeness.
Narrative Responsibility and Moral Dilemma: A Case Study of a Family's Decision About a Brain-dead Daughter (2011)
An analysis of the responsibility that drives us to tell, retell, and coauthor the (often unfinished) narratives of loved ones. First author: Takanobu Kinjo.
The Review of Life Studies
A collection of articles written by Masahiro Morioka and his friends.
Audio/Video Recordings
Brain Death, the Concept of ‘Persona,’ and the Principle of Wholeness
At the Center for Ethics and Humanities in the Life Sciences,
Michigan State University, September 28, 2012.
Academic Journal
Journal of Philosophy of Life
A peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in the philosophy of life, death, and nature, supported by the Project of Philosophy and Contemporary Society, Advanced Research Center for Human Sciences, Waseda University.
SNSs
 Life Studies Blog
 Facebook - Masahiro Morioka
twitter - masa_morioka
 Academia.edu
 ResearchGate
Email
Email
Special Reports
Special Report: No.1
Brain Death and Transplantation in Japan
Special Report: No.2
Japanese Responses to the World Trade Center Attack
Special Report: No.3
Bioethics around the World
Special Report: No.4
Herbivore Men
This Site's History
This site was launched in 1999 to promote discussion on life studies, philosophy of life, environmental ethics, bioethics, gender studies, and criticism of contemporary civilization.
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Other pages
Japanese website 
Japanese version of LIFESTUDIES.ORG.
French website 
French version of LIFESTUDIES.ORG.
Links
List of websites made more than 10 years ago.
Older pages
(c) LIFESTUDIES.ORG 1999 -
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