Midweek Review

Suzuki Method in Sri Lanka: Introducing an Actor Training System

Published

4 years ago

2020/12/30

By Saumya Liyanage Introduction

In 2019, the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Visual and Performing Arts initiated a project titled ‘Suzuki Actor Training Workshop’ with a performance maker and actor trainer Dr Deborah Leiser-Moore from Melbourne, Australia. The objective of this workshop was to introduce a novel approach to actor training through the least explored performer training system in Sri Lanka known as ‘Suzuki Method’ conceived and developed by a well-known Japanese theatre director Tadashi Suzuki. The Suzuki method has been used and taught in many Universities and theatre institutions in the world and this approach to actor training was first popularized in America, Australia, and Europe in the early 80s. However, this approach of actor training was not known to Sri Lankan academia or theatre schools. The dominant performer training paradigm has been the Stanislavski or Method, derived from Stanislavski’s system or later the version of Method acting derived through American actor training tradition. This domination has been a widespread phenomenon in major actor training schools in the world. Yet, in the early 80s and latter part of the decade, the Suzuki method has become one of their major disciplines in actor training curricula, especially in Australia and America. This Suzuki actor training workshop was the first attempt to introduce Tadashi Suzuki’s methodology to a Sri Lankan group of actors.

Tadashi Suzuki

As a theatre student reading for Master’s degree at Flinders University South Australia in early 2002, I was first introduced to Suzuki’s approaches to actor training. My thesis supervisor Prof. Julie Holledge introduced Suzuki’s key texts as I was reading various actor-training methodologies and preparing for writing the thesis. At the time the Suzuki method was one of the popular approaches to actor training in many theatre schools and theatre ensembles in Australia. Suzuki had visited Australia several times and had worked with Australian actors to share his ac

tor training method and his philosophy of theatre. Further his writings and theoretical and methodological promises of actor training have been widely discussed in theatre forums and symposia in Australasia. I first read his key text The Way of Acting (1986) to learn this master’s approaches to theatre, body, and performance. In addition, several key journal papers written by eminent theatre scholars who had practical experience of his theatre making were also my starting point (Allain, 1998, Allain, 2003, Allain, 2019, Goto, 1989a, Kim, 2013). These writings which offered in depth descriptions and analyses of the efficacy of Suzuki method further opened up my horizon to think through Suzuki and his theatre works.

Tadashi Suzuki, an 81-year-old Japanese theatre director first started his theatre career in the 1950s during his undergraduate days at Waseda State University, Japan. As a student theatre activist, with his writing collaborator Betsuyaku Minoru and 12 amateur actors, he founded the Free Stage (Jiyu Butai) theatre group an

d produced theatre works that reflected the ‘turbulent era of his time’ (Goto, 1989, p. 103). As such, Suzuki’s ideas on theatre and the philosophy of actor’s role in theatre were somewhat reminiscent of European avant-gardes such as Antonin Artaud or Jerzy Grotowski. As Artaud and Grotowski rejected the text and its domination in the theatrical experience, Suzuki was also of the view that the centre of the theatrical experience should be the actor and the actor’s co-presence with the audience. His experimentations of theatre works since early 60s to date have emphasised the actor’s body and voice as the kernel of theatrical experience.

He had the conception of finding new ways of doing theatre when he first visited France to take part in an international theatre festival. After returning, Suzuki and his group had found a mountain farmhouse located hundreds of kilometers from Tokyo, and had converted it into a theatre house. Since then Suzuki has explored his actor training and theatre works in Toga Little Theatre in Japan. Toga is a remote village in Japan where Tadashi Suzuki started his theatre practice and still functions as the centre of his theatre and actor training explorations.

Why Suzuki?

I thought of introducing the Suzuki method to Sri Lankan theatre actors for several reasons. I have observed that Sri Lankan theatre and especially its performance practice are diminishing with elaborate technology and stage craft. Further, the actor’s body and its capacity are also marginalized for the sake of proscenium dialogical dramatic acts that we experience in contemporary theatre. Older versions of psychological realism still dominate in theatre and the actor’s capacity, voice, and physical expressions have gradually been forgotten. As I have frequently argued, the ‘primal ritual’ of theatre and actor’s art need to be re-established in order to reinstate a sustainable theatre experience between theatergoers and actors. For theatre audiences in Sri Lanka, whether it is English, Tamil or Sinhala speaking theatres, theatre experience has become a mere proscenium arched framework where people watch daily popular political jargons and obscene jokes brought to entertain them. It is pity to see that the actor’s art has never been in such a poor state where actors on stage perform like marionettes in television soap operas.

The distinction between television screen and theatre is narrowed to a place where a nuclear family saga or political jokes are the core of experience.

In this sense, the Suzuki actor training method is a unique approach to actor training among other performer training pedagogies. It is unique because it focuses on the actor’s development of lower body, stillness, stamina and the presence of the body on stage. On the other hand, it is an innovative actor training method that emphasises the animal-energy in theatre. As Suzuki argues, pre-modern theatre in Japan and elsewhere employed animal-energy to create theatre and stagecraft, and theatre technologies were merely created through human engagement. Suzuki uses this term animal-energy to discuss how raw human engagement is used in traditional theatres such as Noh and Kabuki in Japan and also kuttiyattam and Kathakali dance drama in India or Balinese theatre in Bali, Lombok or in East Java. Talking about his actor training system Suzuki further explains:

As the theatre, either in Europe or in Japan, has kept up with the times and has come to use non-animal-energy in every facet of its activities, one of the resulting evils is that the faculties of the human body and physical sensibility have been overspecialized to the point of separation. Just as civilization has specialized the job of the eyes and created the microscope, modernization has “dismembered” our physical faculties from our essential selves (Suzuki, T., 2002, p. 3)

As this quotation depicts, Suzuki discusses his discontentment of the current practice of the human body on stage and further discusses how the human race has extended technological innovations to replace perceptual organs. For instance, he explains how the human eye is replaced with the microscopic apparatuses to see what the human eye cannot capture through its naked eye. However, Suzuki’s lament with the modern technology and its domination of human cognition is not a new conceptual position. Since the inception of the industrial revolution, many scholars and philosophers have addressed this issue and notably, the intervention of technology and its impact upon human life was a heated debate.

The invasion of intermedial applications in modern and contemporary theatre is something that we cannot ignore. This intermediality has replicated the natural human body and its performativity on stage by elevating digital and visual power over the human body and theatre at large.

However, the importance of Suzuki’s criticism is that he intends his actors to find true selves and the corporeal presence on stage. In line with this argument, Suzuki has invented a method which emphasizes the lower part of the human body—legs—and its connection to the floor. (This idea of focusing on the lower body and its connection to the earth was not new to Sri Lankan dance practice. However, with the advent of visual medium and digital technology the performer’s focus has been shifted from the floor to the upper body).

The basic activities that Suzuki has formulated to train actors is a series of various stomping methods and walking patterns that allow actors to work as individuals and in groups. In this stomping method, actors are intended to hit the floor vigorously and continue stomping for at least half an hour while keeping their upper bodies still. Therefore, the actor’s endurance and stamina are tested with these rigorous exercise routines. Stomping further allows the actor to see how his/her upper body reacts to the lower body when legs are hitting the ground. The challenge of maintaining the balance, the centre of gravity and energy flow through the pelvic area to the ground, and its equal force towards the upper body is constantly been measured and tested in this actor training method.

Deborah Leiser-Moore

With the concept of eradicating daily routine and mundane habitual behaviors, I had several conversations with Australian actor/director Deborah Leiser-Moore, and finally decided to conduct a week-long Suzuki actor training for a group of selected Sri Lankan actors in mid-2019.

I first met Deborah during my stay at La Trobe University Melbourne while reading for my PhD. I was assigned to teach a few undergraduate classes Asian performance traditions and at the time Deborah was a hired lecturer at the Department of Theatre, La Trobe University Bundoora, Victoria. She wanted to take part in my workshops and later I found that she was going to conduct a series of workshops on Suzuki actor training for undergraduate theatre programme. Associate Prof. Rob Conkie introduced me to Deborah and she invited me to take part in her workshop on the Suzuki method. For the first time in my career as an actor, I was exposed to the Suzuki method which was physically challenging and psychologically draining when I underwent training.

Deborah has studied the Suzuki method and gained first-hand experience of working with the master actor trainer and theatre director Tadashi Suzuki and his actors in Waseda Little Theatre (Waseda Shogekijo) in Japan. In addition, she has studied the work of Ettiene Decroux, and his corporeal mime, and has worked with Richard Schechner’s Rasaboxes. Deborah is a performance maker and actor who has created many solo performances and has performed them in several theatre festivals around the world. She has worked as a sessional lecturer at many Australian Universities such as La Trobe, Wollongong, Sydney, Monash, and University of Western Sydney where she has taught and developed course contents, supervised theses, and theatre productions.

Suzuki Method in Sri Lanka

The Suzuki actor training workshop, conceived and developed by Dr Saumya Liyanage and Dr Deborah Leiser-Moore, was mainly focused on the actor’s ‘Present’ in the given moment, developing stamina and deconstructing daily habit body and cultivating a sense of presence and focus on the body and text. The participants were selected through an application process and the workshop was limited to twenty-five actors of both genders. The week-long workshop was designed to work with actors throughout. Deborah conducted her actor training workshop quite similar to what she has learnt during her Apprenticeship in Toga, Japan.

Young and enthusiastic actors and a few dancers were selected to take part in this unique performer training workshop and every moment of working with Deborah was a joyful experience for Sri Lankan actors. These selected actors were either graduates or had professionally worked in the Sinhala or English theatre. Among these actors, there were a few dance graduates who were keen to explore performance genres. However, the Suzuki method is a rigorous and a physically demanding actor training system. Many of the actors were physically and psychologically drained during workshop hours. Sri Lankan actor training taking place in a few university theatre departments and ad-hoc theatre workshops conducted by individuals mainly focuses on theatre exercises derived from European or American teaching and are also very much confined to theatre games. The Suzuki method however, which is fully focused on the actor’s body and the culture of training and its impact upon the actor’s body, is completely different from what Sri Lankan actors have experienced. I believe that the actors who worked with Deborah have questioned themselves, the capacities of their bodies, the connection between the body and their cognitive operations, and interrelation between actors, which would have been a novel eye opener for them.

Conclusion

Deborah wanted to conclude the Suzuki actor training week with a performance demonstration. The actors enthusiastically worked with Deborah to compile what they had learnt throughout the week-long session and later integrated a text written by Prof. Peta Tait with whom they discussed practice-based research and its contemporary development in postgraduate studies in Australia and other countries. Prof. Tait and Dr Deborah also conducted several postgraduate seminars focusing on how performance practice could be a research insight for students who wish to pursue research degrees in theatre and performing arts. I would like to conclude this piece of writing with Prof. Tait’s poem that we used in the final performance demonstration.

I watch the sea below.

I fly further and further – between sky and sea.

The flight takes over my soul.

I can’t feel my body

The island appears beneath as if by magic.

An island silenced by war.

I could never dream up this brilliance.

How could I imagine this richness that leaps at the senses?

War moves people across impossible distances

With a spin of fate, it makes us someone else

Fighting off a force waiting to steal away our lives.

But my war is a strange one.

Where’s the enemy?

Then all goes still and silent

Peta Tait @ Longing

Acknowledgements

The Author of this paper wishes to thank Dr Deborah Leiser-Moore, Emeritus Prof. Peta Tait, La Trobe University Australia, and Associate Prof. Rob Conkie, Dept. of Theatre, La Trobe University, Australia for supporting this actor training project. Further, the author’s gratitude goes to the following people: Natasha Hilary, Samal Hemachandra, and the staff of the FGS, UVPA Colombo who managed the project. Himansi Dehigama and Sachini Senevirathne helped copy editing this paper.

Reference list

Allain, P. (1998). Suzuki Training. TDR/The Drama Review, 42(1), pp.66–89.

Allain, P. (2003). The art of stillness : the theatre practice of Tadashi Suzuki. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Allain, P. (2019). Physical actor training 2.0: new digital horizons. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 10(2), pp.169–186.

Goto, Y. (1989a). The Theatrical Fusion of Suzuki Tadashi. Asian Theatre Journal, 6(2), p.103.

Kim, J.K. (2013). Suzuki Tadashi’s Intercultural Progress in South Korea. Asian Theatre Journal, 30(1), pp.207–222.

Tadashi Suzuki and Steele, K.H. (2015). Culture is the body : the theatre writings of Tadashi Suzuki. New York: Theatre Communications Group.

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Midweek Review

Rajiva on Batalanda controversy, govt.’s failure in Geneva and other matters

Published

3 days ago

2025/03/19

Sahan Weerasooriya

Wickremesinghe responds to Hasan during the controversial interview recorded in London

Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s recent interview with Mehdi Hasan on Al Jazeera’s ‘Head-to-Head’ series has caused controversy, both in and outside Parliament, over the role played by Wickremesinghe in the counter-insurgency campaign in the late’80s.

The National People’s Power (NPP) seeking to exploit the developing story to its advantage has ended up with egg on its face as the ruling party couldn’t disassociate from the violent past of the JVP. The debate on the damning Presidential Commission report on Batalanda, on April 10, will remind the country of the atrocities perpetrated not only by the UNP, but as well as by the JVP.

The Island sought the views of former outspoken parliamentarian and one-time head of the Government Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP) Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha on a range of issues, with the focus on Batalanda and the failure on the part of the war-winning country to counter unsubstantiated war crimes accusations.

The former President and UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe’s interview with Al Jazeera exposed the pathetic failure on the part of Sri Lanka to address war crimes accusations and accountability issues. In the face of aggressive interviewer Mehdi Hasan on ‘Head-to-Head,’ Wickremesinghe struggled pathetically to counter unsubstantiated accusations. Six-time Premier Wickremesinghe who also served as President (July 2022-Sept. 2024) seemed incapable of defending the war-winning armed forces. However, the situation wouldn’t have deteriorated to such an extent if President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who gave resolute political leadership during that war, ensured a proper defence of our armed forces in its aftermath as well-choreographed LTTE supporters were well in place, with Western backing, to distort and tarnish that victory completely. As wartime Secretary General of the Government’s Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (since June 2007 till the successful conclusion of the war) and Secretary to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights (since Jun 2008) what do you think of Wickremesinghe’s performance?

It made him look very foolish, but this is not surprising since he has no proper answers for most of the questions put to him. Least surprising was his performance with regard to the forces, since for years he was part of the assault forces on the successful Army, and expecting him to defend them is like asking a fox to stand guard on chickens.

In spite of trying to overwhelm Wickremesinghe before a definitely pro-LTTE audience at London’s Conway Hall, Hasan further exposed the hatchet job he was doing by never referring to the fact that the UNP leader, in his capacity as the Yahapalana Premier, co-sponsored the treacherous Geneva Resolution in Oc., 2015, against one’s own victorious armed forces. Hasan, Wickremesinghe and three panelists, namely Frances Harrison, former BBC-Sri Lanka correspondent, Director of International Truth and Justice Project and author of ‘Still Counting the Dead: Survivors of Sri Lanka’s Hidden War,’ Dr. Madura Rasaratnam, Executive Director of PEARL (People for Equality and Relief in Lanka) and former UK and EU MP and Wickremesinghe’s presidential envoy, Niranjan Joseph de Silva Deva Aditya, never even once referred to India’s accountability during the programme recorded in late February but released in March. As a UPFA MP (2010-2015) in addition to have served as Peace Secretariat Chief and Secretary to the Disaster Management and Human Rights Ministry, could we discuss the issues at hand leaving India out?

I would not call the interview a hatchet job since Hasan was basically concerned about Wickremesinghe’s woeful record with regard to human rights. In raising his despicable conduct under Jayewardene, Hasan clearly saw continuity, and Wickremesinghe laid himself open to this in that he nailed his colours to the Rajapaksa mast in order to become President, thus making it impossible for him to revert to his previous stance. Sadly, given how incompetent both Wickremesinghe and Rajapaksa were about defending the forces, one cannot expect foreigners to distinguish between them.

You are one of the many UPFA MPs who backed Maithripala Sirisena’s candidature at the 2015 presidential election. The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe duo perpetrated the despicable act of backing the Geneva Resolution against our armed forces and they should be held responsible for that. Having thrown your weight behind the campaign to defeat Mahinda Rajapaksa’s bid to secure a third term, did you feel betrayed by the Geneva Resolution? And if so, what should have the Yahapalana administration done?

By 2014, given the total failure of the Rajapaksas to deal firmly with critiques of our forces, resolutions against us had started and were getting stronger every year. Mahinda Rajapaksa laid us open by sacking Dayan Jayatilleke who had built up a large majority to support our victory against the Tigers, and appointed someone who intrigued with the Americans. He failed to fulfil his commitments with regard to reforms and reconciliation, and allowed for wholesale plundering, so that I have no regrets about working against him at the 2015 election. But I did not expect Wickremesinghe and his cohorts to plunder, too, and ignore the Sirisena manifesto, which is why I parted company with the Yahapalanaya administration, within a couple of months.

I had expected a Sirisena administration to pursue some of the policies associated with the SLFP, but he was a fool and his mentor Chandrika was concerned only with revenge on the Rajapaksas. You cannot talk about betrayal when there was no faith in the first place. But I also blame the Rajapaksas for messing up the August election by attacking Sirisena and driving him further into Ranil’s arms, so that he was a pawn in his hands.

Have you advised President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government how to counter unsubstantiated war crimes allegations propagated by various interested parties, particularly the UN, on the basis of the Panel of Experts (PoE) report released in March 2011? Did the government accept your suggestions/recommendations?

Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha

I kept trying, but Mahinda was not interested at all, and had no idea about how to conduct international relations. Sadly, his Foreign Minister was hanging around behind Namal, and proved incapable of independent thought, in his anxiety to gain further promotion. And given that I was about the only person the international community, that was not prejudiced, took seriously – I refer to the ICRC and the Japanese with whom I continued to work, and, indeed, the Americans, until the Ambassador was bullied by her doctrinaire political affairs officer into active undermining of the Rajapaksas – there was much jealousy, so I was shut out from any influence.

But even the admirable effort, headed by Godfrey Gunatilleke, was not properly used. Mahinda Rajapaksa seemed to me more concerned with providing joy rides for people rather than serious counter measures, and representation in Geneva turned into a joke, with him even undermining Tamara Kunanayagam, who, when he supported her, scored a significant victory against the Americans, in September 2011. The Ambassador, who had been intriguing with her predecessor, then told her they would get us in March, and with a little help from their friends here, they succeeded.

As the writer pointed out in his comment on Wickremesinghe’s controversial Al Jazeera interview, the former Commander-in-Chief failed to mention critically important matters that could have countered Hasan’ s line of questioning meant to humiliate Sri Lanka?

How could you have expected that, since his primary concern has always been himself, not the country, let alone the armed forces?

Do you agree that Western powers and an influential section of the international media cannot stomach Sri Lanka’s triumph over separatist Tamil terrorism?

There was opposition to our victory from the start, but this was strengthened by the failure to move on reconciliation, creating the impression that the victory against the Tigers was seen by the government as a victory against Tamils. The failure of the Foreign Ministry to work with journalists was lamentable, and the few exceptions – for instance the admirable Vadivel Krishnamoorthy in Chennai or Sashikala Premawardhane in Canberra – received no support at all from the Ministry establishment.

A couple of months after the 2019 presidential election, Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared his intention to withdraw from the Geneva process. On behalf of Sri Lanka that announcement was made in Geneva by the then Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, who became the Premier during Wickremesinghe’s tenure as the President. That declaration was meant to hoodwink the Sinhala community and didn’t alter the Geneva process and even today the project is continuing. As a person who had been closely involved in the overall government response to terrorism and related matters, how do you view the measures taken during Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s short presidency to counter Geneva?

What measures? I am reminded of the idiocy of the responses to the Darusman report by Basil and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who went on ego trips and produced unreadable volumes trying to get credit for themselves as to issues of little interest to the world. They were planned in response to Darusman, but when I told Gotabaya that his effort was just a narrative of action, he said that responding to Darusman was not his intention. When I said that was necessary, he told me he had asked Chief-of-Staff Roshan Goonetilleke to do that, but Roshan said he had not been asked and had not been given any resources.

My own two short booklets which took the Darusman allegations to pieces were completely ignored by the Foreign Ministry.

Against the backdrop of the Geneva betrayal in 2015 that involved the late Minister Mangala Samaraweera, how do you view President Wickremesinghe’s response to the Geneva threat?

A: Wickremesinghe did not see Geneva as a threat at all. Who exactly is to blame for the hardening of the resolution, after our Ambassador’s efforts to moderate it, will require a straightforward narrative from the Ambassador, Ravinatha Ariyasinha, who felt badly let down by his superiors. Geneva should not be seen as a threat, since as we have seen follow through is minimal, but we should rather see it as an opportunity to put our own house in order.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake recently questioned both the loyalty and professionalism of our armed forces credited with defeating Northern and Southern terrorism. There hadn’t been a previous occasion, a President or a Premier, under any circumstances, questioned the armed forces’ loyalty or professionalism. We cannot also forget the fact that President Dissanayake is the leader of the once proscribed JVP responsible for death and destruction during 1971 and 1987-1990 terror campaigns. Let us know of your opinion on President Dissanayake’s contentious comments on the armed forces?

A: I do not see them as contentious, I think what is seen as generalizations was critiques of elements in the forces. There have been problems, as we saw from the very different approach of Sarath Fonseka and Daya Ratnayake, with regard to civilian casualties, the latter having planned a campaign in the East which led to hardly any civilian deaths. But having monitored every day, while I headed the Peace Secretariat, all allegations, and obtained explanations of what happened from the forces, I could have proved that they were more disciplined than other forces in similar circumstances.

The violence of the JVP and the LTTE and other such groups was met with violence, but the forces observed some rules which I believe the police, much more ruthlessly politicized by Jayewardene, failed to do. The difference in behaviour between the squads led for instance by Gamini Hettiarachchi and Ronnie Goonesinghe makes this clear.

Mehdi Hasan also strenuously questioned Wickremesinghe on his role in the UNP’s counter-terror campaign during the 1987-1990 period. The British-American journalists of Indian origins attacked Wickremesinghe over the Batalanda Commission report that had dealt with extra-judicial operations carried out by police, acting on the political leadership given by Wickremesinghe. What is your position?

Wickremesinghe’s use of thugs’ right through his political career is well known. I still recall my disappointment, having thought better of him, when a senior member of the UNP, who disapproved thoroughly of what Jayewardene had done to his party, told me that Wickremesinghe was not honest because he used thugs. In ‘My Fair Lady,’ the heroine talks about someone to whom gin was mother’s milk, and for Wickremesinghe violence is mother’s milk, as can be seen by the horrors he associated with.

The latest revelations about Deshabandu Tennakoon, whom he appointed IGP despite his record, makes clear his approval for extra-judicial operations.

Finally, will you explain how to counter war crimes accusations as well as allegations with regard to the counter-terror campaign in the’80s?

I do not think it is possible to counter allegations about the counter-terror campaign of the eighties, since many of those allegations, starting with the Welikada Prison massacre, which Wickremesinghe’s father admitted to me the government had engendered, are quite accurate. And I should stress that the worst excesses, such as the torture and murder of Wijeyedasa Liyanaarachchi, happened under Jayewardene, since there is a tendency amongst the elite to blame Premadasa. He, to give him his due, was genuine about a ceasefire, which the JVP ignored, foolishly in my view though they may have had doubts about Ranjan Wijeratne’s bona fides.

With regard to war crimes accusations, I have shown how, in my ‘Hard Talk’ interview, which you failed to mention in describing Wickeremesinghe’s failure to respond coherently to Hasan. The speeches Dayan Jayatilleke and I made in Geneva make clear what needed and still needs to be done, but clear sighted arguments based on a moral perspective that is more focused than the meanderings, and the frequent hypocrisy, of critics will not now be easy for the country to furnish.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Midweek Review

Research: Understanding the basics and getting started – Part I

Published

3 days ago

2025/03/19

Sahan Weerasooriya

Introduction

No human civilization—whether large or small, modern or traditional—has ever survived without collectively engaging in three fundamental processes: the production and distribution of goods and services, the generation and dissemination of knowledge and culture, and the reproduction and sustenance of human life. These interconnected functions form the backbone of collective existence, ensuring material survival, intellectual continuity, and biological renewal. While the ways in which these functions are organised vary according to technological conditions, politico-economic structures and geo-climatic contexts, their indispensability remains unchanged. In the modern era, research has become the institutionalized authority in knowledge production. It serves as the primary mechanism through which knowledge is generated, rooted in systematic inquiry, methodological rigor, and empirical validation. This article examines the key aspects of knowledge formation through research, highlighting its epistemological foundations and the systematic steps involved.

What is knowledge?

Knowledge, at its core, emerged from humanity’s attempt to understand itself and its surroundings. The word “knowledge” is a noun derived from the verb “knows.” When we seek to know something, the result is knowledge—an ongoing, continuous process. However, those who seek to monopolise knowledge as a tool of authority often attribute exclusivity or even divinity to it. When the process of knowing becomes entangled with power structures and political authority, the construction of knowledge risks distortion. It is a different story.

Why do we seek to understand human beings and our environment? At its core, this pursuit arises from the reality that everything is in a state of change. People observe change in their surroundings, in society, and within themselves. Yet, the reasons behind these transformations are not always clear. Modern science explains change through the concept of motion, governed by specific laws, while Buddhism conceptualises it as impermanence (Anicca)—a fundamental characteristic of existence. Thus, knowledge evolves from humanity’s pursuit to understand the many dimensions of change

It is observed that Change is neither random nor entirely haphazard; it follows an underlying rhythm and order over time. Just as nature’s cycles, social evolution, and personal growth unfold in patterns, they can be observed and understood. Through inquiry and observation, humans can recognise these rhythms, allowing them to adapt, innovate, and find meaning in an ever-changing world. By exploring change—both scientifically and philosophically—we not only expand our knowledge but also cultivate the wisdom to navigate life with awareness and purpose.

How is Knowledge Created?

The creation of knowledge has long been regarded as a structured and methodical process, deeply rooted in philosophical traditions and intellectual inquiry. From ancient civilizations to modern epistemology, knowledge generation has evolved through systematic approaches, critical analysis, and logical reasoning.

All early civilizations, including the Chinese, Arab, and Greek traditions, placed significant emphasis on logic and structured methodologies for acquiring and expanding knowledge. Each of these civilizations contributed unique perspectives and techniques that have shaped contemporary understanding. Chinese tradition emphasised balance, harmony, and dialectical reasoning, particularly through Confucian and Taoist frameworks of knowledge formation. The Arab tradition, rooted in empirical observation and logical deduction, played a pivotal role in shaping scientific methods during the Islamic Golden Age. Meanwhile, the Greek tradition advanced structured reasoning through Socratic dialogue, Aristotelian logic, and Platonic idealism, forming the foundation of Western epistemology.

Ancient Indian philosophical traditions employed four primary strategies for the systematic creation of knowledge: Contemplation (Deep reflection and meditation to attain insights and wisdom); Retrospection (Examination of past experiences, historical events, and prior knowledge to derive lessons and patterns); Debate (Intellectual discourse and dialectical reasoning to test and refine ideas) and; Logical Reasoning (Systematic analysis and structured argumentation to establish coherence and validity).The pursuit of knowledge has always been a dynamic and evolving process. The philosophical traditions of ancient civilizations demonstrate that knowledge is not merely acquired but constructed.

Research and Knowledge

In the modern era, research gradually became the dominant mode of knowledge acquisition, shaping intellectual discourse and scientific progress. The structured framework of rules, methods, and approaches governing research ensures reliability, validity, and objectivity. This methodological rigor evolved alongside modern science, which institutionalized research as the primary mechanism for generating new knowledge.

The rise of modern science established the authority and legitimacy of research by emphasizing empirical evidence, systematic inquiry, and critical analysis. The scientific revolution and subsequent advancements across various disciplines reinforced the notion that knowledge must be verifiable and reproducible. As a result, research became not just a tool for discovery, but also a benchmark for evaluating truth claims across diverse fields. Today, research remains the cornerstone of intellectual progress, continually expanding human understanding and serving as a primary tool for the formation of new knowledge.

Research is a systematic inquiry aimed at acquiring new knowledge or enhancing existing knowledge. It involves specific methodologies tailored to the discipline and context, as there is no single approach applicable across all fields. Research is not limited to academia—everyday life often involves informal research as individuals seek to solve problems or make informed decisions.It’s important to distinguish between two related but distinct activities: search and research. Both involve seeking information, but a search is about retrieving a known answer, while research is the process of exploring a problem without predefined answers. Research aims to expand knowledge and generate new insights, whereas search simply locates existing information.

Western Genealogy

The evolution of Modern Science, as we understand it today, and the establishment of the Scientific Research Method as the primary mode of knowledge construction, is deeply rooted in historical transformations across multiple spheres in Europe.

A critical historical catalyst for the emergence of modern science and scientific research methods was the decline of the medieval political order and the rise of modern nation-states in Europe. The new political entities not only redefined governance but also fostered environments where scientific inquiry could thrive, liberated from the previously dominant influence of religious institutions. Establishment of new universities and allocation of funding for scientific research by ‘new monarchs’ should be noted. These shifting power dynamics created space for scientific research more systematically. The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge was founded in 1662, while the French Academy of Sciences (Académie des Sciences) was established in 1666 under royal patronage to promote scientific research.

Alongside this political evolution, the feudal economic order declined, paving the way for modern capitalism. This transformation progressed through distinct stages, from early commercial capitalism to industrial capitalism. The rise of commercial capitalism created a new economic foundation that supported the funding and patronage of scientific research. With the advent of industrial capitalism, the expansion of factories, technological advancements, and the emphasis on mass production further accelerated innovation in scientific methods and applications, particularly in physics, engineering, and chemistry.

For centuries, the Catholic Church was the dominant ideological force in Europe, but its hegemony gradually declined. The Renaissance played a crucial role in challenging the Church’s authority over knowledge. This intellectual revival, along with the religious Reformation, fostered an environment conducive to alternative modes of thought. Scholars increasingly emphasised direct observation, experimentation, and logical reasoning—principles that became the foundation of modern science.

Research from Natural Science to Social Science

During this period, a new generation of scientists emerged, paving the way for groundbreaking discoveries that reshaped humanity’s understanding of the natural world. Among them, Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543), Johannes Kepler (1571–1630), Galileo Galilei (1564–1642), and Isaac Newton (1642–1726) made remarkable contributions, expanding the boundaries of human knowledge to an unprecedented level.

Like early scientists who sought to apply systematic methods to the natural world, several scholars aimed to bring similar principles of scientific inquiry to the study of human society and behavior. Among them, Francis Bacon (1561–1626) championed the empirical method, emphasising observation and inductive reasoning as the basis for knowledge. René Descartes (1596–1650) introduced a rationalist approach, advocating systematic doubt and logical deduction to establish fundamental truths. David Hume (1711–1776) further advanced the study of human nature by emphasizing empirical skepticism, arguing that knowledge should be derived from experience and sensory perception rather than pure reason alone.

Fundamentals of Modern Scientific Approach

The foundation of modern scientific research lies in the intricate relationship between perception, cognition, and structured reasoning.

Sensation, derived from our senses, serves as the primary gateway to understanding the world. It is through sensory experience that we acquire raw data, forming the fundamental basis of knowledge.

Cognition, in its essence, is a structured reflection of these sensory inputs. It does not exist in isolation but emerges as an organised interpretation of stimuli processed by the mind. The transition from mere sensory perception to structured thought is facilitated by the formation of concepts—complex cognitive structures that synthesize and categorize sensory experiences.

Concepts, once established, serve as the building blocks of higher-order thinking. They enable the formulation of judgments—assessments that compare, contrast, or evaluate information. These judgments, in turn, contribute to the development of conclusions, allowing for deeper reasoning and critical analysis.

A coherent set of judgments forms more sophisticated modes of thought, leading to structured arguments, hypotheses, and theoretical models. This continuous process of refining thought through judgment and reasoning is the driving force behind scientific inquiry, where knowledge is not only acquired but also systematically validated and expanded.

Modern scientific research, therefore, is a structured exploration of reality, rooted in sensory perception, refined through conceptualisation, and advanced through logical reasoning. This cyclical process ensures that scientific knowledge remains dynamic, evolving with each new discovery and theoretical advancement.

( Gamini Keerawella taught Historical Method, and Historiography at the University of Peradeniya, where he served as Head of the Department and Senior Professor of History. He is currently a Professor Emeritus at the same university)

by Gamini Keerawella