177. 『人権思想の淵源は宗教ではない』（武田康弘）の二つの英訳
「人権」というと、何だかなあ、と心の内で感じている人も少なくないでしょう。
人権思想が希薄なのは、私ら日本人の思想嫌いゆえ、だけでなく、ふつう言われる「人権思想」が一神教（キリスト教）由来の特殊なニュアンスを含んでいるせいもあるのでしょう。
異教徒であるイスラム教徒や私たち日本人、そしてその他多くの人々にとっては違和を感じるに違いありません。
宗教や既成哲学（西洋哲学）にかかわりなく、誰の心にもスッと入るような本来の意味での普遍的人権思想が必要なのではないでしょうか。
なぜなら、人権思想は現代社会を形成するおおもとの思想だからです。
これは、崩壊しつつある現代社会を再構成するための土台作りの試みでもあります。
そういうわけで、その普遍的人権思想を広く訴えるため、武田康弘による「人権思想の淵源」を英訳しようということになりました。
英訳していただいたのはお二人。
青木里香さんの英訳は普通の市民目線での日常言語による表現。
（青木里佳さんは、タケセンの教え子です。）
三枝恭子さんは米国在住の言語学者ですから、より緻密な詰めを伴う表現になるでしょう。
（三枝恭子さんは、ｂｌｏｇ「思索の日記」でタケセンの呼びかけに応えて、『泥さんの「従軍慰安婦の真実」』の英訳をしてくれた方です。）
異質な英訳二本でもっと微妙なニュアンスが伝わることになると期待します。
1.The Source of Human Rights thought is neither religion nor philosophy but the existence of infants.
Author: Yasuhiro Takeda
translator: Rika Aoki
2.The origin of the notion of human rights does not lie in religion or philosophy;
it lies in the existence of small children.
When I say "philosophy," I mean philosophy as an academic discipline.
Author: Yasuhiro Takeda
Translator: Kyoko Saegusa
※オリジナルの日本語文
人権思想の淵源は、宗教（一神教）や哲学（理論体系の哲学及び人生哲学）ではなく、幼子の存在です．
1. The Source of Human Rights thought is neither religion nor philosophy but the existence of infants.
We talked about the similarities and differences between "Theory of Natural Human" by Rousseau and "Shinjin" by Shoeki Ando in a class for college students and adults yesterday.
It led to a discussion about "The source of Human Rights thought". The concept of "Human Rights" is based on Christianity, which is one of the strong monotheistic Religions, and is universal to humans but it conceals a religious belief of a transcended god. I shared that my point of view about the source of Human Rights thought was very different from Christian concepts in Western countries. I think this point of view makes sense to anyone in different countries. I believe that the source of Human Rights thought is the existence of infants.
Infants have individual characters such as how they cry from the moment they are born.
Each life of an infant is irreplaceable. Infants born into a wealthy families, celebrity families, and poor families don't have any rank and no differences in values between them. All infants are born as important and precious existences. This thought has nothing to do with a particular belief or religion but that all parents who have children feel and think it naturally. The consciousness to protect and raise their children is deeper and bigger than anything else. Saying this with formal words, this consciousness has "ultimate universality". Even people who don't have children can understand enough that it is the source. It is a common thought that infant lives = love, except for pathologically abnormal people.
This is the source of Human Rights thought and not religion or philosophy. All the more, Human Rights are absolutely inviolable universal principles of mankind. Freedom, equality, and benevolence all come from a human's natural thoughts and emotions not from some principles or religions. We can say the source of Human Rights is love for infants physically and emotionally. The thought is emerging from it naturally.
My opinion is that the source of Human Rights thought is emerging from humans' natural emotions universally, not from monotheistic religions, communism, or Prime Minister Abe's nationalism. Invaluable individual = each with dignity and an awareness of being in the world as self-centeredness. These idea are basis of human experience.
Author: Yasuhiro Takeda
Translator: Rika Aoki
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2. The origin of the notion of human rights does not lie in religion or philosophy; it lies in the existence of small children.
When I say "philosophy," I mean philosophy as an academic discipline.
Yesterday in our college level class we studied the overlapping and differences between the notion of Rousseau's 'natural man' and 安藤昌益 (Ando Shoeki)'s 真人 (shin-jin, 'true person'). Rousseau and Ando were contemporaries. (Source: Yasunaga, Juen, 『中江兆民と安藤昌益』(Nakae Chomin & Ando Shoeki), 1978. レグルス文庫.)
The discussion continued on to examination of "the origin of the notion of human rights."
The concept of "human rights" that bases itself on Christianity, a strong form of monotheism, is said to be a universally human concept. However, hidden in it is the religious belief of a transcendent god.
My understanding of the origin of the notion of human rights comes from a totally different place from Christian thoughts of Europe and America. Yesterday I first talked about it in the class.
It is something anyone from any country would easily understand.
The origin of the notion of human rights lies in the existence of babies and infants.
The moment a baby is born s/he possesses individuality; each baby has her or his own way of crying, for instance. The life of each baby is irreplaceable; it cannot be replaced by anyone else's. Whether the baby is born into a rich family or poor family, or a famous family or not, does not make the baby any more or less superior or inferior to others. Each baby is just as valuable as any other. Every baby is born into the world with the same importance and preciousness.
This has nothing to do with particular thought or religion. Every parent naturally has this sense and feeling. Our determination to protect and help the baby grow is more profound and stronger than anything else. To put it more formally, one can say that this determination contains "the ultimate universality." It should be obvious to even someone who has no biological child of her or his own that the origin of the notion of human rights comes from this urge in us. Unless the person is pathologically warped, s/he inevitably feels love for young children. This love is shared by all of us.
The origin of the notion of "human rights" lies right there, not in any specific religion or philosophy. This is why the principle of human rights is a universal principle that cannot be violated no matter what. Freedom, equality, and egalitarianism are all borne out of not from isms and specific religion but from natural human thoughts and feelings. The notion of human rights has its origin in the love for young children and it comes from one's whole body and mind. This is a thought that arises naturally from this source.
My understanding is that the origin of the notion of the authentic human rights comes from this universal human thought that arises from natural human feeling, and not from monotheism, communism, or Prime Minister Abe and his cohorts' pre-war ideology that equates the Japanese Emperor as the embodiment of the national entity (国体思想).
What constitute the foundation of human existence are the respect for an individual, the irreplaceable human being, and 唯我独尊(there is only one of me, and I am precious as is), the awareness of the origin of our beginning.
Author: Yasuhiro Takeda
Translator: Kyoko Saegusa
