Other names Sanjuro Tomonaga Name Tomonaga Sanjuro Died September 18, 1951 | Region Japanese philosophy Role Philosopher Influenced Kuniyoshi Obara | |
Born March 25, 1871 Nagasaki Prefecture, Higashisonogi, Kawatana Main interests Renaissance, Early Modern, Kant, History of Philosophy Areas of interest Kantianism, Early modern philosophy, Renaissance philosophy, History of philosophy Philosophical era Contemporary philosophy, Postmodernism Schools of thought Thomism, Renaissance philosophy, History of philosophy, Neo-Kantianism, Kyoto School | ||
Tomonaga Sanjūrō (朝永 三十郎, 1871–1951) was a Japanese philosopher and a renowned professor emeritus of the Medieval, Renaissance, Early Modern, and Kantian philosophy at the University of Kyoto in early 20th century. He was one of the leading thinkers from the Kyoto School. His son, Shinichirō Tomonaga, is also famous for receiving the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965 for the development of quantum electrodynamics.
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Life
Tomonaga was born in Nagasaki Prefecture the second son of Tomonaga Jinjirō, a samurai of the Ōmura Domain,in 1871. After graduating from Nagasaki Ōmura Junior High School (which is now known as Nagasaki Prefectural Omura High School) and then First Higher School, he entered the Tokyo Imperial University. After finishing his degree from the same university, he became the assistant professor of philosophy at the Imperial University of Kyoto in 1907 and then full professor in 1913. He mainly lectured on Western Philosophy and the History of Philosophy; and, along with Nishida Kitarō and Tanabe Hajime, constituted the important intellectual movement of modern Japan, i.e., the Kyoto School. Tomonaga was known for being an unprolific writer but left remarkable works (e.g., "The History of Self-consciousness in relation to the Self of Modernity," "Philosophy from Renaissance to Kant," "Kant's Theory of Peace," and others) and taught many students who later became renowned Japanese philosophers (e.g., Amano Teiyū, Obara Kuniyoshi, Yamauchi Tokuryū, Kosaka Masaaki). He retired from Kyoto Imperial University in 1931 and then became full professor at Ōtani University.