午夜剧场

When the new coronavirus first began to spread, I don't think many people took it seriously. Nearly two years have passed since then. There is no sign of this epidemic ending. While there were times when a glimmer of light appeared as vaccines were developed and the number of vaccinated people gradually increased, the rise in new infections shows no sign of stopping.

This book was inspired by a sentence I wrote in response to a survey about the COVID-19 pandemic conducted by the Research Centers and Institutes for Future Philosophy last year (June 2020): "Even the agony of death... is not experienced in vain."

What I wanted to talk about in this book is simple. It is to discuss the thought of the medieval saint Francis of Assisi (1181/82–1226). He was a contemporary of Shinran (1173–1262) from Japan's Kamakura period. His philosophy is simple: all things in this world, living creatures, and natural objects like mountains, air, and stars are all God's creations, and they are all brothers and sisters. It is not just things. Illness and suffering—no, even death itself—are sisters.

Death has been viewed as a challenge to be overcome. The Russian thinker Fyodorov believed that death exists for humans because humans are ethically incomplete. He saw the death of the individual as necessary for humans to become more complete. He believed that if humans became ethically perfect, there would be no need to die, and they would become immortal. He dreamed of an era—prior to the invention of the airplane—where humans would go into space by rocket and live outside the Earth for the time when the world would overflow with immortal humans.

One could laugh at such teachings as a dream or a fairy tale. But is that enough? The story of salvation from global warming and the extinction of humanity told by the young girl Greta Thunberg is by no means far removed from such stories.

In order to confront an epidemic, it is necessary to prepare policy measures that cover society as a whole, as well as specific medical sciences prevention policies and treatment systems. However, since it is difficult to reduce COVID to zero, persistent patience and hope for the future are necessary to face it for a long time. Do we not need an ethics for survival? I have poured those feelings into this single volume. I sincerely hope for a swift end to this for the sake of future generations.

Shiro Yamauchi

Research Centers and Institutes for Future Philosophy

256 pages, 1,980 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are those at the time of publication.