Hobart and William Smith Colleges

16 December 2008 Krummel Translates Japanese Philosopher

So often things are lost in translation between one language or culture and another. But thats not the case when Assistant Professor of Religious Studies John Krummel is at work. In his latest co-translation project, Overcoming Modernity: Synchronicity and Image-Thinking,, Krummel makes the final writings of the prominent Japanese philosopher Yuasa available to the English-speaking world. Its a good thing because Yuasas philosophy, engages both Western and Eastern thought to reconsider modernity and offer an alternative, more holistic paradigm, according to the works publisher State University of New York (SUNY) Press.

Yuasas broad spectrum of scholarly interests shines through in his final work, said Krummel. It addresses such topics as language, Greek philosophy, the I Ching (Yijing), myths, religion, self-cultivation methods, Taoism (Daoism), Carl Jung and Heidegger in relation to modernity.By exploring this range of topics, Yuasa is able to offer an alternative to the scientific worldview inherited from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Krummel received a Ph.D. in philosophy from the New School for Social Research and received a Ph.D. in religion from Temple University. His writings have been published in Auslegung, PoMo Magazine, Dao, International Philosophical Quarterly, Existentia and Philosophy Today. He has also written an entry for the online Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and, in addition to Japanese, has translated works from German into English for publication.

Born and raised in Japan in a bi-lingual family, his scholarly interests include continental philosophy, phenomenology, Heidegger, Kant, Nietzsche, Asian philosophy, Buddhism, Dgen, Kkai, Kyoto school philosophy, Nishida, Nishitani, comparative philosophy/religion and philosophy of religion.

Now available through the SUNY Press, Overcoming Modernity is an exceptional read for those interested in philosophy, science, religion, psychology or ethics.