Property and sociological knowledge: Natsume Sōseki and the gift of narrative

摘要

This paper explores Natsume Sōseki''s 1912 novel, Until the Spring Equinox and Beyond, as a continuation of Sōseki''s experimental project to produce a scientific theory of literature. It looks in particular at Sōseki''s encounter with Western sociology and the role that private property systems played in it. It argues that Sōseki''s theory and practice of literature can be understand as attempts to formulate a critique of sociological knowledge from the stance of literature, including a critique of the ideologies of possessive individualism. In particular, it examines parallels between Sōseki''s novel and Mauss''s theory of the gift, as well as Derrida''s critique of Mauss.