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This book offers the first comprehensive collection of essays on the key concepts of Kitaro Nishida (1870-1945), the father of modern Japanese philosophy and founder of the Kyoto School. The essays analyze several of the major philosophical concepts in Nishida, including pure experience, absolute will, place, and acting intuition. They examine the meaning and positioning of Nishida's philosophy in the history of philosophy, as well as in the contemporary world, and discuss the relevance of his philosophy in the present context. The book next looks at the significance of Nishida's philosophy in the wider contexts of science, arts, and religion.
The book includes a glossary of key terms that have been translated in a unified manner throughout the volume.
List of contents
1. Pure Experience (Nakajima).- 2. Standpoint of Absolute Will (Itabashi).- 3. Self-Awareness (Okada).- 4 Place (Akitomi).- 5. Dialectical Universal (Minobe).- 6. Acting Intuition (Mine).- 7. The World of Historical Reality (Kazashi).- 8. The Meanings and Positioning of Nishida Philosophy in the History of Philosophy (Ohashi).- 9. The Meanings and Positioning of Nishida Philosophy in the Western World (Maraldo).- 10. The Meanings and Positioning of Nishida Philosophy in the Eastern World (Cheung).- 11. The Meanings and Positioning of Nishida Philosophy in Japan (Inoue).- 12. Nishida Philosophy and Religion (Kopf).- 13. Nishida Philosophy and Science (Matsumaru).- 14. Nishida Philosophy and Art (Kobayashi).- 15. The Meanings and Positioning of Nishida Philosophy in the Contemporary World (Arisaka).- 16. Nishida Philosophy in the Future (Lam).
About the author
Hisao Matsumaru is currently Professor of Philosophy and Faculty of International Liberal Arts at the Dokkyo University in Soka, Saitama, where he has also served as Dean of the Faculty. He has also been a guest professor or held research fellow positions at Duisburg University, Germany, Cornell University, and École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris. He is currently President of Nishida Philosophy Association in Japan.
Yoko Arisaka has been Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of San Francisco until 2007. She has held research fellow positions at the UC Humanities Research Institute, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris, and Forschungsinstitut für Philosophie Hannover, Germany. She is currently an adjunct professor at the Institute of Philosophy at the University of Hildesheim, Germany.
Summary
This book offers the first comprehensive collection of essays on the key concepts of Kitaro Nishida (1870-1945), the father of modern Japanese philosophy and founder of the Kyoto School. The essays analyze several of the major philosophical concepts in Nishida, including pure experience, absolute will, place, and acting intuition. They examine the meaning and positioning of Nishida’s philosophy in the history of philosophy, as well as in the contemporary world, and discuss the relevance of his philosophy in the present context. The book next looks at the significance of Nishida’s philosophy in the wider contexts of science, arts, and religion.
The book includes a glossary of key terms that have been translated in a unified manner throughout the volume.
Additional text
“This collection of essays has several virtues. … This book finally closes a gap present in the secondary literature on Nishida in English by making accessible the interpretive work of Japanese scholars to a larger audience. On the other hand, the book sheds light on some little studied aspects of Nishida and some of his more complex concepts. At the same time, however, reading the book highlights some of the challenges of research to come.” (Fernando Wirtz, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 73 (4), October, 2023)
Report
"This collection of essays has several virtues. ... This book finally closes a gap present in the secondary literature on Nishida in English by making accessible the interpretive work of Japanese scholars to a larger audience. On the other hand, the book sheds light on some little studied aspects of Nishida and some of his more complex concepts. At the same time, however, reading the book highlights some of the challenges of research to come." (Fernando Wirtz, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 73 (4), October, 2023)
