Abstract
Nothingness has become a prominent research topic in recent intercultural philosophy. An Eastern concern for nothingness is frequently juxtaposed to a Western philosophy of being. Rather than adopting a contrastive approach, this chapter proposes a critical conception of nothingness in a twofold sense. First, nothingness is related to human experience and action. Secondly, a transcultural conception of nothingness highlights the incongruity between distinctive domains of human experience between and within cultures. Departing from Roland Barthes’ aesthetic approach to nothingness in terms of “the neutral,” the chapter argues for a practice of inter-cultural philosophy that reveals the in-between spaces, the interstices, and voids in modern societies.
Note
Previous versions of this chapter have been presented at Sun Yatsen University (Zhuhai Campus), The Buddhist Academy in Beijing, Kyoto University, and the Free University of Berlin. I would like to thank my hosts on these occasions: Jun-Hyeok Kwak, Hiroshi Abe, Wang Ge, and Hans Feger as well as the audiences for insightful feedback.
© 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
