2:00 PM - 2:15 PM
[MZZ41-02] Toyohiko Kagawa and Petrology, and V.I.Vernadsky
Keywords:Toyohiko Kagawa, V.I.Vernadsky, petrology, natural theology
Suwa Kaneto (1928-2020), a petrologist and geologist, was fond of using the phrase "Petrology is the Sociology of Minerals.” This phrase comes from the Christian social activist Toyohiko Kagawa (1888-1960), who wrote, "Petrology is like the sociology of mineralogy" (Asahi Shimbun, November 8, 1958). In the same article, Kagawa also wrote, "The most lagging discipline in Japan is the field of petrology. "
One wonders why Kagawa, who was not a natural scientist, could say that Japanese petrology was lagging, and accurately describe the relationship between petrology and mineralogy. If we learn that while he was in the United States from 1914 to 1916, he studied natural science, mainly biology, and in his later years, in 1958, he published Cosmic Purpose, a book that makes full use of the results of modern science, we will be able to understand that. After his death, his collection of books was housed at Meiji Gakuin University. Of the total of 8179 books in all fields, 781 are Japanese and 844 are Western books related to natural science, indicating his lifelong interest in natural science (the number of books is based on the Tentative Catalogue of the Toyohiko Kagawa Collection, Meiji Gakuin University). He had such knowledge of natural sciences that he could hardly be considered a non-specialist.
In 1931, Kagawa established Matsuzawa Kindergarten in present-day Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, and was also involved in early childhood education. The "Nature Education Plan for Young Children" (1933) he published there was unique. It emphasizes nature education and describes how to teach rocks and soil, plants, animals, and astronomy. In the teaching of rocks and soil, the author advises to teach children the basic elements of rocks, such as types of minerals, crystalline bodies, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks, as well as the properties of soil. In fact, the kindergarten was equipped with rock specimens and models of crystal systems. The reason why the teaching of rocks is so important, he says, is because "when we look at minerals and rocks, we realize that they are not random, that they have rules." There is order in nature, and this order is what gives nature its beauty. Kagawa saw order in plants, animals, and the heavens and found them beautiful, and he felt the same way about stones (and even more so because they contain time). He believed that contact with the natural order was important for religious education.
In Social and Spiritual Revolution (1948), Kagawa listed two of his favorite books: Lawrence Henderson's The Fitness of the Environment (originally published in 1913, translated by Saburo Kajihara, 1943) and Vladimir Vernadsky's Geochemistry (originally published in 1924, translated by Junichi Takahashi, 1933). Henderson was an American biochemist and sociologist, and his The Fitness of Environment, which discusses the interaction between organisms and the environment, was described by Kagawa as "the Bible of natural science." Vernadsky was a Russian mineralogist and chemist whose Geochemistry is said to be the first systematic book on geochemistry, and Kagawa described it as "the gospel of rocks" and "a kind of Bible of rocks." Both books discuss the existence of order in nature on a global scale, and Kagawa, who believed that the natural world was on the path of evolution with a purpose rather than by chance, read them as books to guide his own thinking. He praised Vernadsky for "showing us through geochemistry that the rocks that form the earth are closely related to life itself, and for teaching us a new theory of the purposive nature of rocks with respect to life." Vernadsky's Geochemistry was a specialized book, and was not intended to be read by anyone other than chemists and geologists. Toyohiko Kagawa is a rare example of a non-specialist who used it for his own system.
Kagawa sought to find Christianity in the picture of the universe as revealed by the natural sciences. The Cosimic Purpose is clearly a book that falls into the category of natural theology (or public natural theology, according to T. Hastings). It emphasizes cycles and changes, points out that selection is at work in them, and posits the existence of "purpose" as the destination of the tendency and direction of selection. He also described "an absolute cosmic will" as giving this purpose.
This presentation will discuss the relationship between Toyohiko Kagawa and petrology, and his understanding of Vernadsky, and consider what natural science research meant to Toyohiko Kagawa.
One wonders why Kagawa, who was not a natural scientist, could say that Japanese petrology was lagging, and accurately describe the relationship between petrology and mineralogy. If we learn that while he was in the United States from 1914 to 1916, he studied natural science, mainly biology, and in his later years, in 1958, he published Cosmic Purpose, a book that makes full use of the results of modern science, we will be able to understand that. After his death, his collection of books was housed at Meiji Gakuin University. Of the total of 8179 books in all fields, 781 are Japanese and 844 are Western books related to natural science, indicating his lifelong interest in natural science (the number of books is based on the Tentative Catalogue of the Toyohiko Kagawa Collection, Meiji Gakuin University). He had such knowledge of natural sciences that he could hardly be considered a non-specialist.
In 1931, Kagawa established Matsuzawa Kindergarten in present-day Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, and was also involved in early childhood education. The "Nature Education Plan for Young Children" (1933) he published there was unique. It emphasizes nature education and describes how to teach rocks and soil, plants, animals, and astronomy. In the teaching of rocks and soil, the author advises to teach children the basic elements of rocks, such as types of minerals, crystalline bodies, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks, as well as the properties of soil. In fact, the kindergarten was equipped with rock specimens and models of crystal systems. The reason why the teaching of rocks is so important, he says, is because "when we look at minerals and rocks, we realize that they are not random, that they have rules." There is order in nature, and this order is what gives nature its beauty. Kagawa saw order in plants, animals, and the heavens and found them beautiful, and he felt the same way about stones (and even more so because they contain time). He believed that contact with the natural order was important for religious education.
In Social and Spiritual Revolution (1948), Kagawa listed two of his favorite books: Lawrence Henderson's The Fitness of the Environment (originally published in 1913, translated by Saburo Kajihara, 1943) and Vladimir Vernadsky's Geochemistry (originally published in 1924, translated by Junichi Takahashi, 1933). Henderson was an American biochemist and sociologist, and his The Fitness of Environment, which discusses the interaction between organisms and the environment, was described by Kagawa as "the Bible of natural science." Vernadsky was a Russian mineralogist and chemist whose Geochemistry is said to be the first systematic book on geochemistry, and Kagawa described it as "the gospel of rocks" and "a kind of Bible of rocks." Both books discuss the existence of order in nature on a global scale, and Kagawa, who believed that the natural world was on the path of evolution with a purpose rather than by chance, read them as books to guide his own thinking. He praised Vernadsky for "showing us through geochemistry that the rocks that form the earth are closely related to life itself, and for teaching us a new theory of the purposive nature of rocks with respect to life." Vernadsky's Geochemistry was a specialized book, and was not intended to be read by anyone other than chemists and geologists. Toyohiko Kagawa is a rare example of a non-specialist who used it for his own system.
Kagawa sought to find Christianity in the picture of the universe as revealed by the natural sciences. The Cosimic Purpose is clearly a book that falls into the category of natural theology (or public natural theology, according to T. Hastings). It emphasizes cycles and changes, points out that selection is at work in them, and posits the existence of "purpose" as the destination of the tendency and direction of selection. He also described "an absolute cosmic will" as giving this purpose.
This presentation will discuss the relationship between Toyohiko Kagawa and petrology, and his understanding of Vernadsky, and consider what natural science research meant to Toyohiko Kagawa.