<公募論文>井筒俊彦の禅理解における意味分節の三段階 --ジーン・ブロッカーの禅理解との比較から

Abstract

This paper aims to elucidate Toshihiko Izutsu’s conception of three stages of semantic articulation to philosophically elaborate the experience of Zen Buddhism in comparison with Gene Blocker’s understanding of Zen. Blocker proposes three stages of semantic investigation to clarify the nature of meaning, asserting that it is a projection. Additionally, Blocker discovers a similar understanding in Zen masters’ sayings. Likewise, Izutsu identifies three stages of semantic articulation in Zen masters’ thoughts: (1) articulation that posits an essence (essentialism), (2) non-articulation, and (3) articulation that does not posit an essence (non-essentialism). However, Izutsu interprets these thoughts as implying a metaphysical structure of self-articulation of non-articulation. Conversely, Blocker does not adopt the metaphysical perspective of reality in his interpretation of Zen. This discrepancy between their interpretations becomes apparent when considering that Blocker’s third stage can be assimilated into the ontological possibilities of Izutsu’s first stage, rather than those of his third stage. Moreover, Izutsu indicates that the Buddhist terms “emptiness” and “nonduality” imply the elimination of all semantic articulations to reveal metaphysical reality. By contrast, Blocker indicates that these terms only imply the removal of non-projective meanings that we naively believe attach themselves to objects.