Watsuji Tetsuro's Rinrigaku (literally, the principles that allow us to live in friendly community) has been regarded as the definitive study of Japanese ethics for half a century. In Japan, ethics is the study of human being or ningen. As an ethical being, one negates individuality by abandoning one's independence from others. This selflessness is the true meaning of goodness.

The first translation available in English of Watsuji's Ethics presenting Western philosophers with a primarily Japanese ethical position that, in a modern context, may help to explain why Japan continues to outpace the West in terms of family and community values. The proposition of the post World War II philosopher revolves around the concepts th