Ikeda’s Philosophy of Human Revolution

In this paper I will consider and examine the figure and work of Daisaku Ikeda, a Japanese Buddhist master, philosopher and writer. It seems impossible to separate within it creed from argument, faith from reason, and religion from philosophy. In particular, Ikeda’s philosophy of human revolution is the contemporary reelaboration of Nichiren’s interpretation and practice of the Lotus Sutra. I will introduce a specific historical approach to evaluate this case, because remembering that our western history of ancient, modern, and contemporary philosophy is full of non-academic and non-rigorous speculative figures is not of secondary importance; and ‘religious philosophers’ and religious movements in philosophy or philosophical movements in religions are not rare. The novelty of Ikeda’s figure requires a work of re-constructive analysis, which is certainly complicated by the variety of his discursive styles and domains. However, his philosophy of action clearly expresses a new humanism that is theoretically and practically linked to a specific conception of the human being, which is at the basis of Ikeda’s philosophy of human revolution.