Philosophical Faith as the Will to Communicate: Two Case Studies in Intercultural Understanding

Abstract

This essay provides an analysis of historical examples that show how difficult it is to pursue Jaspersian “philosophical faith” in the real historic-political situation of intercultural understanding. The focus here will be the case of US-Japan communication both during and after World War II. After a brief identification of Jaspers’ idea of boundless communication and its link to philosophical faith, the essay will comparatively analyze two studies of Japanese culture developed by American scholars in the 1940s, Ruth Benedict’s The Chrysanthemum and the Sword and Helen Mears’ Mirror for Americans: Japan, asking whether or not the realization of Jaspersian philosophical faith can be found in these two authors’ use of reason.