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preoccupation with ethical and political problems. The philosophy of nothingness emerged
with the Indian Buddhist philosophy of emptiness (ku) in Chinese and Japanese Buddhism,
especially Zen Buddhism. As defined by Buddhism, however, nothingness is seen not as a
state of nonexistence as opposed to existence but as an absolute, transcending the opposi-
tion of existence and nonexistence, or as an ideal and absolute human state identical to
religious enlightenment.
In Oriental thought, Nothingness is one of the richest and the most important
concepts for transcending the opposition between two antagonistic concepts; and,
according to Taoists especially Zhuangzi, Nothingness is the origin from which all
existence comes and to which all existence returns. It is an absolute. This means that
negation is the integrated logical method to conceive a transcending cosmology.
I dare say that what is happening at the Fukushima Nuclear Facilities represents
a concrete case of Technica Negativa. After the earthquake and following tsunami,
the Japanese government was obliged to shut down all the nuclear reactors at
Fukushima from No. 1 to No. 4 and begin demolishing them. But we do not have
correct information about the state of the nuclear cores. It is certain that every core
has melted down, but in what form? And we do not know what the structural
situation of each facility is or the status of each nuclear core. Everything is
completely destroyed. The inside of the nuclear facilities is full of radioactivity.
The Japanese government has called for a new technology and new projects to
research newly-developed technology for the world. It seems clear to the technol-
ogists that the most effective measure is “using robots”. It is dangerous to come
near the nuclear facilities. But, to this point, the Japanese government has received
too few ideas, and the effort has been in vain. It makes no sense or it is not within
our technological abilities. Around Fukushima, radioactivity is still measured at a
fatal dose. But we must close these facilities. In the case of Fukushima, demolition
is a very concrete example of doing Technica Negativa. The report of Le Monde on
18 December 2013 shows us that Fukushima is in the greatest demolition crisis we
have ever experienced. It will take at least 40 years to demolish it. This tragic
human accident will make for new developments in technology; but, as Kant
suggested in the seventh thesis of his Idea for a Universal History in a Cosmopol-
itan Sense
,
because humanity is forced, due to suffering and evil, to institute a
cosmopolitan condition to secure safety (cf. Kemp and Hashimoto
2011
and 2012).
References
Imamichi T (1968) Betrachtungen ¨ber das Eine, Institut der Aesthetik. Tokyo Universitat, p 228S
Imamichi T (ed) Revue Internationale de Philosophie Moderne, vols1-24, (1982-2009). Acta
Institutionis Philosophiae et Aestheticae. Centre International pour l'Etude Compar´e de
Philosophie et d'Esth´tique, Tokyo
Imamichi T (ed) (2003) Introduction to eco-ethica, special issue for the XXIst world congress of
philosophy. Centre International pour l'Etude Compar´e de Philosophie et d'Esth´tique,
Tokyo, p 102
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