Tomoo Otaka

Tomoo Otaka (1899-1956) studied philosophy at the University of Kyoto in the mid-1920s. The Grundlegung der Lehre vom sozialen Verband [Foundation of a theory of social association] was the product of a three-year European visit (1929-1932) in which he studied in Vienna with Hans Kelsen and in Freiburg with Edmund Husserl.Otaka deployed Husserl s theory of knowledge to criticise the work of various contemporary German sociologists, arguing that there was a need to reframe social scientifi c research. He also criticised Kelsen s pure law theory, presenting a different view of the nature and function of law within and between nation states. He promoted an ontological science of society, but his book offered a philosophy of social science without applying that science to itself.In his Introduction to his translation, Derek Robbins (author of The Bourdieu paradigm, 2019) suggests that assessing Otaka s text and its context contributes to an understanding of the development of Bourdieu s conceptual apparatus. In turn, the application of Bourdieu s thinking to Otaka s theory generates the refl exivity which it requires but did not offer.The volume comprises three Parts: an Introduction, the translated text, and a collection of commentaries from four international scholars who offer invaluable insights into Otaka s work from different perspectives.