Glitter of youth through philosophy and mathematics in 1970s
TANAKA Akio
In 1970s at Tokyo or in age 20s, there surely exists glitter of youth in my life, now I remember. In those days, in Japan many fabulous magazines were successively published. Episteme, Toshi（City), Chugoku(China) and the likes.Especially I loved reading Episteme which had printed many philosophical or philological articles as the form of special issues concentrated important philosopher, thinker and writer. The chief editor of Episteme was NAKANO Mikitaka（1943-2007), probably one of the best editors in the latter half of the 20th century in Japan.
The most impressive number was Ludwig Wittgenstein（1889-1951）, probably in 1977. Also influenced from the issue of Kurt Gödel（1906-1978）who gave me the possibility of set theory and its application.
In my life, Wittgenstein gave the big influence for thinking and writing style, never entering or approaching his essential philosophical themes. After millennium year when I started the regular writing on language universals, my writing style was at first rather resembling in his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. My paper written in 2003, Quantum Theory for Language shows a very imitative style to him. This tendency kept on for some time till I changed to adopt algebraic method for clearer description to the themes.
1970s was a relatively calm time after those university’s revolution in the late 1960s in which I was also compellingly rolled in. In those days I time to time had wandered between library and old book shops searching my life-time true themes cowardly avoiding the turmoil of university and towns.
Blaise Pascal（1623-1662）’s Pansees was my favourite one. One day at Kanda’s Taiwan Chinese book shop Haifeng Shudian, I bought WANG Guowei（1877-1927）’s Guantangjilin that clearly opened the new frontier for classical Chinese philology along mainly streamed by Small Study, traditional restrict linguistics in China. Influenced WANG Guowei I tentatively wrote a paper titled On Time Property Inherent in Characters, 2003 by which I began the later start of language study.
In 1970s, I had cherished a dream in which I wanted to use mathematical description and get the essential of language. But I had not any ability to proceed the study for it while I read at random mathematical books. One day I found and bought the amount Nicolas Bourbaki（1935-）’s text books at old book shop in Kanda, Tokyo. They were hard to continue reading for my talent in those days. After all, the books were put aside the desk. The only remaining in my mind was adoration to Bourbaki and their brilliant achievement. My return to Bourbaki was long after in 1990s when I again tried the pursuit of language having a clear vision to study language universals according to the Linguistic Circle of Prague, especially aiming to resolve the supposition presented by Sergej Karcevskij（1884-1955).Turning round the past days, my way was always narrow and winding. But it has been kept till now not breaking off in any situations. The way was almost always glittering in my youth days in spite of under the cloudy skies. Probably I have walked happily till now being assisted by many people especially at the field of language, mathematics and the relevant studies.
At random now I remember the dear names, but from whom I never cannot hear their voices. HASEGAWA Hiroshi, CHEN Donghai both Chinese language, KAJIMURA Hideki, CHO Shokichi both Korean language, Natary Muravijova Russian language, ONO Shinobu Chinese literature, MIIYAZAKI Kenzo, FURUTA Hiromu, KONDO Tadayoshi all three Japanese literature, ANDO Tsuguo French poem, SAEKI Shoichi Haiku, IKEDA Hiroshi Japanese classical drama, SAITO Kohei sculpture, YAMAGISHI Tokuhei bibliography, NISHI Junzo Chinese philosophy, KAWASAKI Tsuneyuki Buddhism, CHINO Eiichi Russian language, the Linguistic Circle of Prague. At last dear friend of high school days KANEKO Yutaka mathematics and our youth.
Tokyo
6 March 2015
24 March 2018 Text revised and link added
17 June 2022
Sekinan Library