At present, humankind is facing a great crisis, and it has become increasingly difficult for pre-existing philosophies to maintain their relevance. But this crisis is not so simple as to be solved by merely coming up with something novel, simply because modernity has met its demise and post-modernity is upon us. What the situation demands is a radical rethinking of the state of philosophy, and the establishment of a truly new philosophy. For that, it is necessary to overcome the Occidentalist way of thinking that has been predominant, and beyond that, to explore the forms of thinking in other cultural spheres and consider how these might play a role in the present.
　For those who are based in Japan, the highest priority is to inquire into and rethink Japan's own traditional thought, and think about how it can be brought to life in a manner relevant to the contemporary situation. While it is quite impossible to take up the entirety of traditional thought in this present collaborative research, the focal point shall be on Buddhist thought, with other ideas included in our scope through the course of this investigation.
　First, it is important to note that in recent times, research in medieval Japanese Buddhism has progressed at such a rapid pace that the previously accepted understanding of it has been completely overturned. In particular, research on mikkyō (esoteric Buddhism) is no longer confined to the narrow sense of “thought” or ideas, but has brought together other fields such as literature, history, art, and ritual to become a truly rich and interdisciplinary area of research.
Therefore, in this collaborative project, we hope to make good use of the cutting-edge research results that we have, with the cooperation of members who are specialists in this field.
　Furthermore, philosophers in the present day continue to ponder on and redress the Occidentalism t hat once r uled Western philosophy. In particular, comparative philosophy has tried to shed the West-centric bias wherein Western philosophy was taken as the standard to which other thought traditions were compared, and against which they were judged. Rather, researchers in this field are now grappling with the question of how to approach and understand differing traditions in a way that does justice to their difference. In this project, we will carry out philosophical investigations with the cooperation of members who are specialists in contemporary philosophy and comparative philosophy but are interested in traditional thought as well.
　As has been shown above, in this collaborative research, specialists from two differing fields—medieval Japanese Buddhism and contemporary/comparative philosophy—will come together, and through dialogue and discourse, explore the possibility for a new contemporary Japanese thought.

Research Representative	末木文美士	国際日本文化研究センター・教授
Organizer	稲賀繁美	国際日本文化研究センター・教授
Team Researcher	阿部仲麻呂	上智大学神学部・非常勤講師
〃	井上克人	関西大学文学部・教授
〃	魚住孝至	放送大学・教授
〃	岡本貴久子	元総合研究大学院大学文化科学研究科学生
〃	冲永宜司	帝京大学文学部・教授（副学長）
〃	嘉指信雄	神戸大学大学院人文学研究科・教授
〃	坂井祐円	南山大学南山宗教文化研究所・非常勤研究員
〃	坂本慎一	株式会社PHP研究所　経営理念研究本部　研究業務部・主事
〃	佐藤弘夫	東北大学大学院文学研究科・教授
〃	島薗　進	上智大学神学部・特任教授
〃	Michel Dalissier	同志社大学文学部・准教授
〃	永井　晋	東洋大学文学部・教授
〃	中島隆博	東京大学東洋文化研究所・教授
〃	西平　直	京都大学大学院教育学研究科・教授
〃	西村　玲	公益財団法人中村元東方研究所・研究員
〃	Molly Vallor	神戸大学大学院人文学研究科・特命助教
〃	Silvio Vita	京都外国語大学外国語学部・教授
〃	藤田正勝	京都大学大学院総合生存学館・教授
〃	前川健一	公益財団法人東洋哲学研究所・研究員
〃	吉永進一	舞鶴工業高等専門学校・准教授
〃	米田真理子	神戸学院大学法学部・准教授
〃	阿部泰郎	国際日本文化研究センター・客員教授 / 名古屋大学大学院文学研究科・教授
〃	滝澤修身	国際日本文化研究センター・客員教授 / 長崎純心大学人文学部・教授
〃	Ranjana Mukhopadhyaya	国際日本文化研究センター・外国人研究員 / デリー大学・准教授
〃	Anton Sevilla	総合研究大学院大学文化科学研究科・博士後期課程
〃	高橋勝幸	総合研究大学院大学文化科学研究科・研究生
Team Researcher Overseas	James Mark Shields	バックネル大学（アメリカ）・准教授
〃	Anna Andreeva	ハイデルベルク大学(ドイツ)・リサーチフェロー
〃	許　祐盛	慶煕大学校(韓国)・教授
〃	鄭　灐	檀国大学校(韓国)・教授