New Philosophy of Life
Written by Okada Jikan Mokichi, 1950
Just saying studies, there are practical and impractical ones. That might sound strange to you. To put it simply, studies for their own sakes are impractical and those that can be used in everyday life is practical. However, studies to explore the truth is another matter. They are valuable.
To begin with, what are studies? People of today go to elementary, junior high and high school and then university. At school, teachers use two methods to teach them; textbooks and fieldwork. The former is a vertical approach and the latter is a horizontal one. This education method was formed as a result of the devoted efforts of philosophers and scholars so far. Before then, it is needless to say that various discoveries were made and theories were proposed. Some perished and some were broken down. Only valuable things have remained and accumulated. If a certain theory or discovery is found to be inferior to newly appeared theories or discoveries, it completely perishes even though it was once recognized as truth and regarded as a golden rule. On the other hand, some still preserve their lives and contribute to human society. In this way, time determines all of them.
In this sense, no one knows when a new theory is advocated and it explodes the established theory which we are convinced would be the everlasting absolute truth. When a new theory is found, it is obvious that it does not fit the mould of the established theories. That’s why it is valuable. In a word, the more unusual it is and the larger scale it has, the more valuable it is. Therefore, something that people once thought to be the truth would be buried. It is because the superior truth is born. In this way, cultural development never stops.
Here, I explore this further. The established education method has been formed over the years and it is at least well-organised. However, culture develops so rapidly that it is far apart from the fixed method at an extraordinary pace. I recently heard a certain person’s recollection. He is a president of a big company. He said, “Even the brightest person can hardly deal with problems that are actually occurring when more than ten years passed since he graduated from university. It is because a wide gap exists between the knowledge that he acquired at university and that of today. It means knowledge doesn’t keep up with time. This problem especially applies to engineers.” His words prove well what I described above. The theory is formed on the basis of the matter from the past to the era when it is formed. Therefore, when cultural standards have developed since then, the theory will die out unless it follows them.
Let me give you another example. Today’s politicians are said to become narrow-minded. In short, there are few politicians who are broad-minded and perform so-called ‘belly-talk.” They have no tactics. They are busy with nothing but just handling immediate problems. Their intentions are very obvious. Why did they become so? People of ministerial calibres graduated from national universities. They tend to be caught with old theories and do everything in theory. They have no idea of supra-rational reason. That is as if they talk about a carriage at the age of automobiles. They learned how to operate a carriage but don’t know how to drive a car. The human brain is developed and a certain degree of its basis is built by studies. It means that studies work as foundations. A new building is constructed on the foundation. It means that politicians should progress and create something new by using their acquired knowledge. They should keep pace with the culture of rapid progress, nay, rather go ahead and play a leading role. Then their knowledge becomes practical. Recently, American president Truman said that he ran a haberdashery around 1921. Such an experience in society has led him to what he is today.
I have advocated a new theory of medicine for more than ten years. I published my book about it but the book was immediately banned. Actually, my book was banned three times. I inevitably give up publishing the book now. Why was my book banned? It is because my theory is just the opposite of that of the present medicine. However, the disease is cured by using my method. Compare to modern medicine, mine achieves dozens of times better treatment results. Furthermore, my method cures the disease not temporarily but completely. There is no exaggeration about that. I wrote down in my book, “I accept an experiment at any time if you propose it.” Even so, authorities and experts take no notice of it. So, I have nothing to do about it.
In the first place, the purpose of medical treatment is to heal all kinds of diseases, promote human health and prolong human life. What other purpose would it have? Unless it meets those purposes, it means nothing no matter how many times theories are discussed and evaluated. It is useless even if facilities are constructed very sophisticatedly and practically. They never consider nor concern with my theory just because it is different from the theory of the established medicine. It cannot be helped that their act is said to be against culture. Furthermore, the government absolutely depends on them. In that case, there is no choice but to say that modern people are just pitiful lambs.
I described a bold theory as above. Then why could I announce such a theory? I am not a mad person. How could I do so without absolute certainty? I have found the terrible mistake lied behind today’s medicine which is said to be highly developed. This is the greatest discovery ever before because nothing is more important than solving the matter of human life. Therefore, I declare that modern medicine cannot be useful as long as its great fault become clear.
Looking at the town, you would find how many people are suffering from severe or incurable diseases due to wrong medicine. This situation makes us impossible to stay calm at peace. Now I have no choice but just to pray to God for people to realize the fault of medicine as soon as possible.
Translated by N.H.