An encouragement of learning

The intellectual and social theorist Yukichi Fukuzawa wrote 'An Encouragement of Learning' (1872-1876) as a series of pamphlets as he completed his critical masterpiece, 'An Outline of a Theory of Civilization' (1875). Closely linked, the two texts illustrate the core enets of Fukuzawa's theoretical outlook: freedom and equality as inherent to human nature, independence as the goal of any individual and nation, and the transformation of the Japanese mind as key to moving forward in a rapidly evolving political and cultural landscape.