Matt Fujimoto: A Philosopher of Language on Substack

Interview with a Fellow Philosopher - Episode 3

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I am continuing a series of interviews with philosophers. The goal is to introduce a wider audience to what philosophers do, as well as some of the ideas that these philosophers are working on. Hopefully, it will demonstrate the relevance of philosophical research in our time, when philosophy is often accused of being a remnant of a past activity, and show the complexity and diversity of our field.

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Romaric: Thank you for accepting my offer of an interview. Would you mind introducing yourself, your reason for doing philosophy, your research topic, or the question(s) that interest you?

Matt: I’m

Matt Fujimoto

and I am an independent philosopher, which means that I do not work at a university. I received my MA in philosophy at a seminary in the USA before going on to do Ph.D. studies in Asian philosophy. I was also a researcher at Kyoto University in Japan for two years. 

I got into philosophy through political science when I discovered that public discourse about laws had deeper roots than just public policy. For example, whether or not drugs should be legalized comes down to questions such as personal autonomy, the relationship between an individual and society, and even how we know our own desires, all deeply philosophical.

My research is in the philosophy of language. In particular, I study the nature of language and how words have meaning. I do my best to bring an international approach to my research which means I use philosophical resources from Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. My specialty is Japanese philosophy, which has been a rich research area for me.

While I am interested in just about anything to do with language, the big question I am working with right now is how to understand magic in a modern way. To me, magic is the idea that language can create something. Just think about Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. Wizards say some magic words and then something happens. So in a modern context, how can we understand the idea that when you say something, in some way, something is created?

Romaric: Thank you, Matt. This is a very original research topic. Who are the philosophers that help you think about magical language, and what ideas do you find most useful for your research? Are there authors here that are not well known in America or Europe that you find particularly illuminating?

Matt: In the West, philosophers such as Kierkegaard and Wittgenstein sparked my interest in what you might call “non-conventional” views about language. The book that got me really thinking about the topic was Language and Magic by the Japanese philosopher Izutsu Toshihiko. In this book, Izutsu explores the concept of linguistic power (i.e., magic) and its influence on our relationship with language. Thankfully this book is written in English so you don’t have to worry about learning Japanese to read it. 

However, the works that have influenced my research the most are only available in Japanese. I find the ideas of Ōmori Shōzō particularly interesting. His work is great and it is sad that it hasn’t been widely translated. In his work, he proposes for instance the concept of kotodama 言霊 (i.e. the power of words). For him, language is on the same level as the physical senses rather than referring to them. I think this is a great way of trying to preserve the “magical” aspect of language in more modern philosophical theory. 

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Romaric: Both philosophers, Izutsu and Ōmori, seem to have very original views. The risk of saying this is always to reify Orientalist views that don't stand up to critical scrutiny. Do you see an equivalent of their ideas in Western philosophy? Or is there something very special about their ideas?

Matt: Izutsu’s work is more historical in that he is describing and explaining views regarding the power of language. Ōmori, at least as far as I have researched, is the only one to take the concept of linguistic creation and apply it to metaphysics. Even someone like Wittgenstein who says “the limits of language are the limits of our world” has a very specific non-metaphysical meaning of ‘world’. Ōmori was well-versed in the scientific and philosophical views of his time (he was a visiting researcher at Stanford and Harvard from 1954-55) and I believe he wanted to push some of the theories further than their original authors. 

Now, whether that is because he was Japanese, I do not know. However, it is a common theme among Japanese philosophers that they are willing to push views that in the West are only about knowledge, language, and phenomenology into the metaphysical. In other words, they are unique but it can be argued as to why they are unique. Personally, I do not care if they are Japanese, American, or Egyptian, only that they have interesting theories about language.

Romaric: Thank you very much. Concepts like kotodama 言霊 probably haven't received enough attention yet. I would like to ask you how such an idea can be compared with Austin's views on performative utterance. Also, what do you think could be the application of kotodama in philosophy or communication?

Matt: Historically, kotodama was a vague concept in Shintō and Buddhist thought. It was roughly the idea that words held magical powers to influence Kami. It was not until the Meiji era that we started to get more rigorous discussions of the topic at a time when Japan was trying to figure out its identity as a nation and its place in the world. At that time, kotodama became a concept that Japanese scholars used to distinguish Japan from China and emphasize its uniqueness.

I think it's safe to say that something like Austin’s concept of performative utterance is a weak form of kotodama. Performative utterances actually accomplish the action they describe. For example, when I say “I apologize” I don't just describe what I am doing but I apologize by using that phrase. Kotodama, as I understand it at least, would be more like saying “I jump” and that utterance causing you to jump. In other words, kotodama takes the idea of a performative utterance into the physical and spiritual world, not just the conceptual world. 

In terms of the applications for philosophy, kotodama is interesting because it takes the relationship between words and objects to an extreme. Usually, we think that words and objects are different things with words ‘pointing to’ or ‘picking out’ objects in the world. However, the notion of kotodama supports the idea that words and objects are different extensions of the same thing. This is to say that, the true nature of a thing under this view is not physical but non-physical; the objects we see are simply the physical extensions of an object, one of many possible extensions. Words are then the extension of an object into linguistic/mental space. 

Romaric: Thanks for sharing. Can you tell us what kind of articles you write on Substack and maybe recommend a few articles that people should start with if they find your work interesting?

Matt: Sure, I write mainly about philosophy and language, but also like to write about living in Japan and Japanese culture. I am currently working on a series of articles focused on practical ways to have a rich intellectual life as well as walking readers through the book I mentioned earlier, Language and Magic. This year, I also hope to engage more with current news and philosophy to help people see philosophy in the everyday.

If you would like to read more of my work, I recommend starting with the following articles. They will give everyone a good idea of the things I write about. 

• Language is About Getting Things Done! A fun article comparing my daughter’s use of language to Academics.

• Language is World - A Shinto Theory of Meaning. A full article about kotodama and language mentioned in the interview.

• What is Shintoism? Understanding Japan's Native Religion. An introduction to Shintoism I really enjoyed writing.

Romaric: Thank you very much. For me, your Substack, Freelance Philosophy, is a good example of what doing philosophy online can be. I am sure that people will enjoy your work as much as I do.