Abstract:The collaborative research result of the “Scientific Research Society of Thought” headed by Shunsuke Tsurumi Conversion（Volume 1，1959；Volume 2，1960；Volume 3，1962）was published by Hebonsha，which aroused strong repercussions in Japanese academic circles. The book defines “conversion” as “a change of thought that occurs under the coercion of power”. On the basis of the “classical” ideological conversion that occurred in 1933 when the communists gave up their anti-system and anti-war stance recognized by the academic circles，they put forward the viewpoint of three conversions with the peaks in 1940，1945 and 1952，forming a unique the Four Conversions theory of “Showa period”. The book expounds the nature，characteristics，and influence of each “Conversion” through case analysis of different schools of thought，such as radicalism，liberalism，conservatism，and nationalism. The book’s originality mainly lies in the perspective that takes “power coercion” as a preconditionfor theoretical construction. It believes that 1940 is the peak of the “Yokusan conversions” theory，and points out the essential characteristics of liberal democrats’subservience to totalitarianism，and therefore，it links “Japan’s continual rightward turn of national thought during 1931-1945” and “Japan’s expanding war of foreign aggression”，which deepens the connotation of intellectual history research. The shortcomings of Conversion are as follows，based on the so-called academic freedom principle；it avoids making value judgments on the phenomenon of turning and those who have turned. It is suspected of generalizing the research and diluting the focus of the research；it is inappropriate to regard the main designers of the fascist system such as Fumimaro Konoe as “disguised a convert”；there are also duplication of content，deviation from the theme，and plausible arguments in writing. Therefore，Conversion can be described as a work of exploring new issues，but it cannot be regarded as a masterpiece of rigorous logic.
收起
京公网安备11010202008212号