Abstract
My primary concern in this paper is to explicate the meaning of the aesthetical (perceptual) inclination in contemporary Japanese philosophy. I will put my focal point on the discussion of Nakamura Yujiro's characterization of common sense, which is also a key concept in his philosophy. In the first section I discuss two main trends in contemporary Japanese philosophy in Hamada's analysis. In section two I begin with Nakamura's explication of the two basic meanings of common sense. Common sense is first according to Aristotle the sense which integrates five senses. And second, something derived basically from Cicero, it can also be thought of as a sense which people share in a common society. Next in section three, I turn to Blankenburg's and Kimura Bin's analysis of the two different kinds of mental disorders, hebephrenic schizophrenia and depersonalization disorder. They both treat these mental disorders as different ineffectiveness in common sense. I emphasize Nakamura's interpretation of Kimura Bin's theory concerning hebephrenic schizophrenia. Some critical positions and reflections I take against Nakamura's conception of common sense are also expressed in section four. It is my view that Nakamura has interpreted common sense as a practical wisdom (phronesis) which grasps the whole circumstance. In this section I also try to expound some possible horizons that are opened by contemporary Japanese aesthetics.