Tomoo Otaka

Foundation of a theory of social association, 1932

By: Derek Robbins (Editor)

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Paperback | 15 June 2023

At a Glance

Paperback
360 Pages

Edition Type
New edition

Dimensions(cm)
22.23 x 15.24 x 1.91

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Tomoo Otaka (1899-1956) studied philosophy at the University of Kyoto in the mid-1920s. The Grundlegung der Lehre vom sozialen Verband Foundation of a theory of social association] was the product of a three-year European visit (1929-1932) in which he studied in Vienna with Hans Kelsen and in Freiburg with Edmund Husserl.

Otaka deployed Husserl's theory of knowledge to criticise the work of various contemporary German sociologists, arguing that there was a need to reframe social scientifi c research. He also criticised Kelsen's pure law theory, presenting a different view of the nature and function of law within and between nation states. He promoted an ontological science of society, but his book offered a philosophy of social science without applying that science to itself.

In his Introduction to his translation, Derek Robbins (author of The Bourdieu paradigm, 2019) suggests that assessing Otaka's text and its context contributes to an understanding of the development of Bourdieu's conceptual apparatus. In turn, the application of Bourdieu's thinking to Otaka's theory generates the refl exivity which it requires but did not offer.

The volume comprises three Parts: an Introduction, the translated text, and a collection of commentaries from four international scholars who offer invaluable insights into Otaka's work from different perspectives.

Industry Reviews

Otaka was a prominent legal philosopher and forgotten social theorist. By reviving his main work in the 21st century, this book suggests that, through Schutz, Otaka's social theory can be linked to Bourdieu's sociology. This work is very contemporary, providing clues to thinking fundamentally about what social association is in mobile societies and of mobile lives. Naoki Iso, Tokyo University of the Arts.

Derek Robbins has produced not only a superb translation of Grundlegung der Lehre vom sozialen Verband, but also a thought-provoking introduction to this major study. The cross-cultural perspectives offered in the four commentaries are highly original and illustrate the relevance of Otaka's Grundlegung to the critical study of contemporary societies.

This terrific volume provides a long-overdue translation of one of Tomoo Otaka's most important works. Derek Robbins has produced not only a superb translation of Grundlegung der Lehre vom sozialen Verband, but also a thought-provoking introduction to this major study, which has been largely overlooked, for far too long, by English-speaking scholars in the humanities and social sciences. In conjunction with Robbins's stimulating Bourdieusian reading, the cross-cultural perspectives offered in the four - highly original - commentaries included in this volume illustrate the profound relevance of Otaka's Grundlegung to the critical study of contemporary societies. Simon Susen - City, University of London

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