The Philosophy of Qi

The Record of Great Doubts emphasizes the role of qi in achieving a life of engagement with other humans, with the larger society, and with nature as a whole. Rather than encourage transcendental escapism or quietism, Ekken articulates a philosophy of material force as a basis of living a life of commitment to the world. In this spirit, moral cultivation is not an isolated or a self-centered preoccupation, but an activity that occurs within the dynamic forces of nature and amid the rigorous demands of society. In this context, a vitalism of qi is an emergent force, not only providing the philosophical grounding for this vibrant interaction but also giving a basis for an investigation of the natural world that plumbs the principle within things. Ekken thus aimed to articulate a creative and dynamic milieu for moral education, political harmony, social coherence, and agricultural sustainability.

The Record of Great Doubts embodies Ekken's profound commitment to Confucian ideas and practices as a method for establishing an integrative ethical vision, one he hoped would guide Japan through a new period of peace and stability. A major philosophical treatise in the Japanese Neo-Confucian tradition, The Record of Great Doubts illuminates a crucial chapter in East Asian intellectual history.

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Taigiroku: The Record of Great Doubts
Preface
Part I
On the Transmission of Confucian Thought (1-11)
On Human Nature (12-14)
On Bias, Discernment, and Selection (15-23)
On Learning from What Is Close at Hand (24-28)
The Indivisibility of the Nature of Heaven and Earth and One's Physical Nature (29)
Acknowledging Differences with the Song Confucians (30-42)
Part II
Partiality in the Learning of the Song Confucians (43-46)
Reverence Within and Righteousness Without (47-50)
Influences from Buddhism and Daoism (51-60)
A Discussion of the Metaphysical and the Physical (61)
The Supreme Ultimate (62-66)
The Way and Concrete Things (67-68)
Returning the World to Humaneness (69)
Reverence and Sincerity (70-71)
Reverence as the Master of the Mind (72-80)
The Inseparability of Principle and Material Force (81)
Glossary
Bibliography