1Chris469
Last week I was reading an obituary of a scholar named Takeo Doi. The obit stated that Doi wrote that the Japanese psyche thirved on a love-hungry dependence on authority figures. He wrote a book published in 1971 entitled The Anatomy of Dependence which introduced the idea of "amae" - a childlike desire for indulgence - as key to understanding the Japanese mind. He was struck by how there was no precise way to translate "amae" into English, although the behavior was common in puppies and human babies.
Help me out here: "love-hungry dependence" "childlike desire for indulgence" "puppies and human babies" - what's being described? Can anyone put some added flesh on the bones of this concept of "amae"?
Help me out here: "love-hungry dependence" "childlike desire for indulgence" "puppies and human babies" - what's being described? Can anyone put some added flesh on the bones of this concept of "amae"?
2yomisugi
I'll try to help you out but the phrases above do describe it quite well. I'd call it a childlike dependence and particularly clingy children are often referred to as "amaembo" in Japanese. Doi actually created the word amae as a noun form of the verb "amaeru" which he defined as to depend or presume upon anothers benevolence. It also conveys the idea of expecting or seeking indulgence from someone else.
In his book, Doi writes that "The psychological prototype of 'amae' lies in the psychology of the infant in its relationship to its mother; not a newborn infant, but an infant who has already realised that its mother exists independently of itself ... As its mind develops it gradually realises that itself and its mother are independent existences, and comes to feel the mother as something indispensable to itself, it is the craving for close contact thus developed that constitutes, one might say, amae."
Some observers contrast different approaches to childrearing in these terms by suggesting that Japanese mothers directly ancourage this sort of dependent behaviour in early childhood in contrast to some Western cultures which try to encourage children to be independent individuals from a very early age. To massively oversimplify what Doi says, his work is underpinned by the notion that, in some sense, Japanese never completely leave this dependent phase behind and are much more comfortable with and accepting of more dependent behaviours, even in adulthood, in contrast to other cultures which make more of a virtue of independence and self reliance.
In his book, Doi writes that "The psychological prototype of 'amae' lies in the psychology of the infant in its relationship to its mother; not a newborn infant, but an infant who has already realised that its mother exists independently of itself ... As its mind develops it gradually realises that itself and its mother are independent existences, and comes to feel the mother as something indispensable to itself, it is the craving for close contact thus developed that constitutes, one might say, amae."
Some observers contrast different approaches to childrearing in these terms by suggesting that Japanese mothers directly ancourage this sort of dependent behaviour in early childhood in contrast to some Western cultures which try to encourage children to be independent individuals from a very early age. To massively oversimplify what Doi says, his work is underpinned by the notion that, in some sense, Japanese never completely leave this dependent phase behind and are much more comfortable with and accepting of more dependent behaviours, even in adulthood, in contrast to other cultures which make more of a virtue of independence and self reliance.
3keigu
For a start, read Bester's translation.
He did his best.
And there are whole books arguing about this, for Doi fai;led to do justice to Benedict who conflated guilt and sin.
Please see how I treat Doi in Orientalism and Occidentalism and ask questiuons if you still have them.
He did his best.
And there are whole books arguing about this, for Doi fai;led to do justice to Benedict who conflated guilt and sin.
Please see how I treat Doi in Orientalism and Occidentalism and ask questiuons if you still have them.
