Metaphorical Circuit ― Negotiations between Literature and Science in 20th Century Japan

Murphy (Japanese literature, U. of Florida) works at the boundary between literary studies and the history of science as he describes how twentieth-century Japanese thinkers struggled with the question of whether the methods of science can inform the realm of literature. Murphy, whose initial degree was in engineering, explores the thought of Natsumi Soseki, Terada Torahiko, Karatani Kojin, Maeda Ai and others as they sought to heal the split between science and literature caused by the introduction of the modern university system in Japan, finding that its Anglo-American humanism imposes cultural limitations that do such damage as removing mathematics from the non-science curriculum. It appears the Western structure of the question caused more fragmentation and confusion than did the question. The East Asia Program is at Cornell University. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)