Kitarō Nishida

was a Japanese moral philosopher, philosopher of mathematics and science, and religious scholar. He was the founder of what has been called the Kyoto School of philosophy. He graduated from the University of Tokyo during the Meiji period in 1894 with a degree in philosophy. He was named professor of the Fourth Higher School in Ishikawa Prefecture in 1899 and later became professor of philosophy at Kyoto University. Nishida retired in 1927. In 1940, he was awarded the Order of Culture (文化勲章, bunka kunshō). He participated in establishing the Chiba Institute of Technology (千葉工業大学) from 1940.

Nishida Kitarō died at the age of 75 of a renal infection. His cremated remains were divided up and interred at different locations. Part of his remains are interred in the Nishida family grave in his birthplace of Unoke, Ishikawa. A second grave can be found at Tōkei-ji Temple in Kamakura, where his friend D. T. Suzuki organized Nishida's funeral and was later interred in the adjacent plot. Nishida's third grave is at Reiun'in (霊雲院, Reiun'in), a temple in the Myōshin-ji compound in Kyoto.Yusa Michiko. Zen & Philosophy: An Intellectual Biography of Nishida Kitaro. University of Hawaii Press, 2002, p. 337.

Philosophy Being born in the third year of the Meiji period, Nishida was presented with a new, unique opportunity to contemplate Eastern philosophical issues in the fresh light that Western philosophy shone on them. Nishida's original and creative philosophy, incorporating ideas of Zen and Western philosophy, was aimed at bringing the East and West closer. Throughout his lifetime, Nishida published a number of books and essays including An Inquiry into the Good and The Logic of the Place of Nothingness and the Religious Worldview. Taken as a whole, Nishida's life work was the foundation for the Kyoto School of philosophy and the inspiration for the original thinking of his disciples.

One of the most famous concepts in Nishida's philosophy is the logic of basho (Japanese: 場所; usually translated as "place" or "topos"), a non-dualistic concrete logic, meant to overcome the inadequacy of the subject-object distinction essential to the subject logic of Aristotle and the predicate logic of Immanuel Kant, through the affirmation of what he calls the "absolutely contradictory self-identity", a dynamic tension of opposites that, unlike the dialectical logic of G.W.F. Hegel, does not resolve in a synthesis. Rather, it defines its proper subject by maintaining the tension between affirmation and negation as opposite poles or perspectives.

In David A. Dilworth's survey of Nishida's works, he did not mention the debut book, An Inquiry into the Good. There, Nishida writes about experience, reality, good and religion. He argues that the most profound form of experience is the pure experience. Nishida analyzes the thought, the will, the intellectual intuition, and the pure experience among them.Nishida, Kitarō (1980), Zen no kenkyū An Inquiry into the Good, Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten. According to Nishida's vision as well as to the essence of Asian wisdom, one craves harmony in experience, for unity.Iţu, Mircia (2005), Nishida Kitarō. O cercetare asupra binelui, Braşov: Orientul Latin, p. 240 .

Legacy

According to Masao Abe, "During World War II right-wing thinkers attacked him as antinationalistic for his appreciation of Western philosophy and logic. But after the war left-wing thinkers criticized his philosophy as nationalistic because of his emphasis on the traditional notion of nothingness. He recognized a kind of universality in Western philosophy and logic but did not accept that it was the only universality."

Nishida considered God "indispensable and decisive".

List of works Collected Works [西田幾多郎全集], 2nd ed. (Iwanami Shoten [岩波書店], 2003–20), 25 Vols. [hereafter NKZ]

Selected Philosophical Essays [西田幾多郎哲学論集], (Iwanami Shoten [岩波書店], 1987–89), 3 Vols. [hereafter SPE] An Inquiry into the Good [善の研究] (Kōdōkan [弘道館], January 1911), reprinted in NKZ1. Thoughts and Experiences, Vol. 1 [思索と体験] (Senshōkan [千章館], March 1915), reprinted in NKZ1. 'On the Claims of Pure Logicists in Epistemology' [認識論における純論理派の主張について] (Geibun [芸文], Vol. 2, No. 8 and No. 9, August–September 1911). 'Laws' [法則] (Tetsugaku Zasshi [哲学雑誌], No. 300, February 1912). 'Logical Understanding and Mathematical Understanding' [論理の理解と数理の理解] (Geibun [芸文], Vol. 3, No. 9, September 1912). 'Natural Sciences and the Study of History" [自然科学と歴史学] (Tetsugaku Zasshi [哲学雑誌], No. 319, September 1913). 'Response to Takahashi Satomi's Criticisms of My An Inquiry into the Good' [高橋文学士の拙著『善の研究』に対する批評に答う] (Tetsugaku Zasshi [哲学雑誌], No. 308, September 1912). 'Bergson's Philosophical Method' [ベルグソンの哲学的方法論] (Geibun [芸文], Vol. 1, No. 8, August 1910). 'Bergson's Pure Duration' [ベルグソンの純粋持続](Kyōiku Gakujutsu Kai [教育学術界], Vo. 24, No. 2, November 1911). 'Contemporary Philosophy' [現代の哲学] (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 1, April 1916). Added in the 2nd edition of 1922. 'Cohen's Pure Knowledge' [コーヘンの純粋意識] (Geibun [芸文], Vol. 7, No. 8, August 1916). Added in the 2nd edition of 1922. 'Lotze's Metaphysics' [ロッツェの形而上学] (Lotze, Hōbunkan [宝文館], May 1917). Added in the 2nd edition of 1922. 'Poincaré as Epistemologist' [認識論者としてのアンリ・ポアンカレ] (Geibun [芸文], Vol. 3, No. 10, October 1912). Removed in the 2nd edition of 1922 but restored in the 3rd edition of 1937. 'On Tolstoy' [トルストイについて] (Geibun [芸文], Vol. 2, No. 1, January 1911). 'Gutoku Shinran' [愚禿親鸞] (Shūsokan [宗祖観], April 1911). 'Preface to Tanabe Ryuji, Koizumi Yakumo' [『小泉八雲伝』の序] (Waseda Daigaku Shuppanbu [早稲田大学出版部], April 1914). 'Preface to Fujioka Sakutarō, Lectures on the History of Japanese Literature' [『国文学史講話』の序] (Kaiseikan [開成館], March 1908). 'Preface to Henri Bergson, Matter and Memory' [『物質と記憶』の序文] (trans. Takahashi Satomi, Seibunkan [星文館], February 1914). Removed in the 2nd edition of 1922. Modern Idealist Philosophy [現代における理想主義の哲学] (Kōdōkan [弘道館], May 1917), reprinted in NKZ12. 'Subjectivism' [主観主義]. 'Objectivism' [客観主義]. 'A Historical Overview of Idealist Philosophy' [理想主義哲学の史的概観]. 'The School of Neo-Kantianism' [新カント学派]. 'The School of Brentano' [ブレンタノ学派]. 'Philosophy of Pure Experience [純粋経験の哲学]. Intuition and Reflection in Self-Consciousness [自覚における直観と反省] (Iwanami Shoten [岩波書店], October 1917), reprinted in NKZ2. Originally published as a serial in Geibun [芸文] (September 1913 to March 1916) which was continued in Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究] (October 1916 to May 1917). §§1-3 (Geibun [芸文], Vol. 4, No. 9, September 1913). §§4-6 (Geibun [芸文], Vol. 4, No. 11, November 1913). §§7-8 (Geibun [芸文], Vol. 5, No. 3, March 1914). §§9-10 (Geibun [芸文], Vol. 5, No. 8, August 1914). §§11-13 (Geibun [芸文], Vol. 5, No. 11, November 1914). §§14-15 (Geibun [芸文], Vol. 6, No. 1, January 1915). §§16-17 (Geibun [芸文], Vol. 6, No. 3, March 1915). §§18-20 (Geibun [芸文], Vol. 6, No. 6, June 1915). §§21-23 (Geibun [芸文], Vol. 6, No. 12, December 1915). §§24-26 (Geibun [芸文], Vol. 7, No. 1, January 1916). §§27-29 (Geibun [芸文], Vol. 7, No. 3, March 1916). §§30-32 (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 7, October 1916). §§33-36 (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 8, November 1916). §§37-38 (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 9, December 1916). §39 (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 10, January 1917). §§40-41 (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 11, February 1917). §42 (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 13, April 1917). §§43-44 (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 14, May 1917). Problems of Consciousness [意識の問題] (Iwanami Shoten [岩波書店], January 1920), reprinted in NKZ2. 'What Consciousness Means' [意識とは何を意味するか] (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 22, January 1918). 'Sensation' [感覚] (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 27, June 1918). 'Feeling' [感情] (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 28, July 1918). 'The True Meaning of Symbols' [象徴の真意義] (Shichō [思潮], March 1918). 'Will' [意志] (Geibun [芸文], Vol. 9, No. 9, September 1918). 'The Various Continuities of the Content of Experience' [経験内容の種々なる連続] (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 35 and No. 36, February–March 1919). 'The Place of the Realisation of the Will' [意志実現の場所] (Geibun [芸文], Vol. 10, No. 4, April 1919). 'The Content of the Will' [意志の内容] (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 38 and No. 39, May–June 1919). 'On Relations' [関係について] (Geibun [芸文], Vol. 9, No. 6, June 1919). 'On the Degrees of Consciousness' [意識の明暗について] (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 42, September 1919). 'The Concept of the Individual' [個体概念] (Shirin [史林], Vol. 4, No. 1, January 1919). 'Leibniz's Ontological Proof' [ライプニッツの本体論的証明] (Geibun [芸文], Vol. 9, No. 1, January 1918). Art and Morality [芸術と道徳] (Iwanami Shoten [岩波書店], July 1923), reprinted in NKZ3. 'The Essence of Beauty' [美の本質] (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 48 and No. 49, March–April 1920). 'Max Klinger's Painting and Drawing' [マックス・クリンゲルの『絵画と線画』の中から] (Geibun [芸文], Vol. 11, No. 10, October 1920). 'The Content of Feeling and the Content of the Will' [感情の内容と意志の内容] (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 61, April 1921). 'The World of Objects of Reflective Judgement' [反省的判断の対象界] (Geibun [芸文], Vol. 12, No. 11, November 1921). 'The Intersection of the True, the Good and the Beautiful' [真善美の合一点] (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 66, September 1921). 'Society and the Individual' [社会と個人] (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 73, April 1922). 'Consciousness of Acts' [作用の意識] (Geibun [芸文], Vol. 13, No. 9 and No. 10, September to October 1922). 'The Acting Subject' [行為的主観] (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 78, September 1923). 'The Will and Syllogism' [意志と推論式] (Shisō [思想], No. 12, September 1922). 'The Beautiful and the Good' [美と善] (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 78, September 1922). 'Law and Morality' [法と道徳] (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 83, February 1923). 'The True and the Beautiful' [真と美] (Kaizō [改造], February 1923). 'The True and the Good' [真と善] (Shisō [思想], No. 18, March 1923). From the Actor to the Seer [働くものから見るものへ] (Iwanami Shoten [岩波書店], October 1927), reprinted in NKZ3. 'The Immediately Given' [直接に与えられるもの] (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 90, September 1923), reprinted in SPE1:37-66. 'Intuition and Will' [直観と意志] (Kōza [講座], November 1923). 'What Lies Behind Physical Phenomena' [物理現象の背後にあるもの] (Shisō [思想], No. 27, January 1924). 'On Internal Perception' [内部知覚について] (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 96, No. 102 and No. 103, March–October 1924). 'Acts of Expression' [表現作用] (Shisō [思想], No. 41, March 1925). 'The Actor' [働くもの] (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 115, October 1925). 'Place' [場所] (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 123, June 1926), reprinted in SPE1:67-151. 'Response to Dr. Sōda Ki'ichirō' [左右田博士に答う] (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 133, April 1927), reprinted in SPE1:153-187. In response to Sōda's 'On the Method of Nishida's Philosophy: A Request to Professor Nishida for Clarification' [西田哲学の方法について——西田博士の教を乞う] (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 127, October 1926). 'The Knower' [知るもの] (Shisō [思想], No. 70 and No. 71, August–September 1927). The System of Universals According to Self-Consciousness [一般者の自覚的体系] (Iwanami Shoten [岩波書店], January 1930), reprinted in NKZ4. 'The Logical Structure of the So-Called World of Objects of Knowledge' [いわゆる認識対象界の論理的構造] (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 145, April 1928). Nishida is referring to »die Welt der Erkenntnisgegenstände«. 'Logicism of the Predicate' [述語的論理主義] (Shisō [思想], No. 78, April 1928). 'The Place of That Which Sees Itself and the Place of Consciousness' [自己自身を見るもののおいてある場所と意識の場所] (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 148, July 1928). 'The Intelligible World' [叡智的世界] (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 151, October 1928), reprinted in SPE1:189-253. 'Intuitive Knowledge' [直観的知識] (Tetsugaku Kenkyū [哲学研究], No. 154, January 1929). 'The Relationship Between Being and What Lies Behind Being in the Self-Conscious Universal' [自覚的一般者においてあるもの及びそれとその背後にあるものとの関係] (Shisō [思想], No. 83, No. 84 and No. 85, April–June 1929). 'The Self-Determination of the Universal' [一般者の自己限定] (Shisō [思想], No. 88 and No. 89, September–October 1929).