This essay by Nishida Kitarō from 1927, translated into English here for the first time, is from the initial period of what has come to be called “Nishida philosophy” (Nishida tetsugaku), when Nishida was first developing his conception of “place” (basho). Nishida here inquires into the relationship between logic and consciousness in terms of place and implacement in order to overcome the shortcomings of previous philosophical attempts—from the ancient Greeks to the moderns—to dualistically conceive the relationship between being and knowing (...) in terms of subject-object or form-matter. During the course of articulating his novel approach to consciousness and cognition, Nishida discusses what he takes to be the weaknesses of Greek hylomorphism, Kantian (and neo-Kantian) dualism, and Husserlian phenomenology. Dissatisfied with the attribution of mere passivity to placiality, and turning away from consciousness objectified as a subject of statement, Nishida imparts to consciousness qua place a certain logical independence as an active yet un-objectifiable “predicate.” This investigation of consciousness as the unobjectifiable place for objectification leads Nishida to the notion of what precedes consciousness itself, a “place of nothing” (mu no basho) that envelops the dichotomized structures of subject-predicate, being-nothing, subject-object, universal-particular, et cetera. (shrink)

The following essay, “The Unsolved Issue of Consciousness” (Torinokosaretaru ishiki no mondai 取残されたる意識の問題), by Nishida Kitarō 西田幾多郎 from 1927 is significant in regard to the development of what has come to be called “Nishida philosophy” (Nishida tetsugaku 西田哲学). In what follows, in addition to providing some commentary on the important points of his essay, I would like to show its relevance or significance not only for those who would like to study Nishida’s thought but also for philosophy in general, especially (...) in the contemporary setting. It was first published in 1927 by Iwanami Publishers in a collection of essays by different authors, Philosophical Essays in Commemoration of the Sixtieth Birthday of Dr. .. (shrink)

A new reprint of Nishida Kitarō's second monograph in his life as a philosopher, Speculation and Experience, in the original Japanese, comprising early essays written in Kyoto between 1912 and 1914. This volume is also cross-referenced to the pagination of the older (1946) and newer (2003) editions of the Complete Works of Nishida Kitarō, vol. 1.

A new reprint of Nishida Kitarō’s maiden philosophical classic, 善の研究 (An inquiry into the Good), cross-referenced to the pagination of the older (1946) and newer (2003) editions of the Complete Works of Nishida Kitarō, vol. 1, as well as to translations in English, Chinese, German, Italian, Korean, Romanian, and Spanish. This is the second volume of "Classics of Philosophy in Japan," a series of books dedicated to the dissemination of important philosophical texts at an affordable price.

In 1919, Nishida Kitarō delivered a speech at Ōtani University discussing the relationship between Nicolaus of Cusa’s coincidentia oppositorum (the coincidence of opposites) and love. The address, given within weeks of a disabling injury suffered by Nishida’s wife, Kotomi, gives evidence of how severe personal crisis would come to influence his philosophical work, and highlights several themes that would dominate the writings of the last twenty-five years of his life.

La notion d’intuition agissante désigne le mode d’être fondamental de l’humain dans le monde dont celui-ci est élément constitutif. Elle ouvre la dimension où s’éprouve l’immédiateté de notre expérience du monde, et cette immédiateté est la source de toute connaissance réelle. Dans cette couche primordiale de notre expérience du monde, les moments actif et intuitif sont les deux aspects constitutifs de la seule et même réalité fondamentale qui n’est autre que la vie. Notre action constitue une réception du monde en (...) son intérieur propre par son élément à la fois passif et actif, élément que nous sommes. (shrink)

« L’autodétermination du maintenant éternel» est un essai central portant sur une question qui ne cessa de préoccuper Nishida tout au long de sa carrière, celle du temps et, corrélativement, celle du soi véritable. L’analyse de la temporalité à laquelle il procède constitue l’un des apports majeurs de sa philosophie sur la scène de la philosophie contemporaine. L’inspiration platonicienne et le rapport constant à Augustin sur ce sujet conduisirent Nishida à approfondir considérablement sa «logique du basho» ou du lieu et (...) à réinterpréter en retour de manière «englobante» la temporalité. Pour lui, tout ce qui est se situe dans le temps, forme fondamentale de la réalité. Or, le temps se situe dans le présent. À partir de cet acquis, Nishida élargit encore plus sa perspective en établissant que le présent lui-même se situe dans le soi. En réalité, le véritable soi n’est autre que le soi présent. Le stade suivant, le plus englobant de tous, est celui du maintenant éternel, dans lequel tourne le temps. Il résulte de la temporalité «englobante» de Nishida une conception du présent qui met l’accent sur le rapport à l’histoire, sur un soi plus fondamental et éthique, de même que sur le thème de l’altérité. (shrink)

In questa sua ultima opera Nishida Kitarō, padre indiscusso della moderna filosofia giapponese, si concentra sul sentimento religioso, analizzandolo attraverso una logica imperniata sul suo concetto di Nulla Assoluto, luogo ultimo in cui emergono realtà e ragione, mondo e uomo. Dialogando sulla soglia che unisce e separa la tradizione buddhista e quella cristiana, Nishida invita a pensare una religione della “trascendenza immanente”, del Dio che si svuota della sua divinità per donarla alle sue creature, del Buddha che sempre è impresso (...) nel cuore dell’uomo. Nella sua dettagliata introduzione, il traduttore, Tiziano Tosolini, ripercorre i concetti fondamentali che Nishida ha sviluppato lungo gli anni tentando di capire il retroscena filosofico che ha portato l’autore alla stesura de La logica del luogo e la visione religiosa del mondo. L’introduzione serve così da guida al lettore perché lo scritto di Nishida possa essere accolto come un testo su cui meditare, interrogarsi ed interagire. Solo così le parole di Nishida, il suo spirito indagatore e religioso, potranno risuonare in tutti coloro che si lasciano affascinare da un pensiero che ha avuto come suo unico e vero confine non tanto quello di una cultura e tradizione filosofica, ma quello più universale ed umano della ragione e della fede. (shrink)

_Ontology of Production_ presents three essays by the influential Japanese philosopher Nishida Kitarō, translated for the first time into English by William Haver. While previous translations of his writings have framed Nishida within Asian or Oriental philosophical traditions, Haver's introduction and approach to the texts rightly situate the work within Nishida's own commitment to Western philosophy. In particular, Haver focuses on Nishida's sustained and rigorous engagement with Marx's conception of production. Agreeing with Marx that ontology is production and production is (...) ontology, Nishida in these three essays—"Expressive Activity", "The Standpoint of Active Intuition", and "Human Being" —addresses sense and reason, language and thought, intuition and appropriation, ultimately arguing that in this concept of production, ideality and materiality are neither mutually exclusive nor oppositional but, rather, coimmanent. Nishida's forceful articulation of the radical nature of Marx's theory of production is, Haver contends, particularly timely in today's speculation-driven global economy. Nishida's reading of Marx, which points to the inseparability of immaterial intellectual labor and material manual labor, provokes a reconsideration of Marxism's utility for making sense of—and resisting—the logic of contemporary capitalism. (shrink)

In 1919, Nishida Kitarō delivered a speech at Ōtani University discussing the relationship between Nicolaus of Cusa’s coincidentia oppositorum and love. The address, given within weeks of a disabling injury suffered by Nishida’s wife, Kotomi, gives evidence of how severe personal crisis would come to influence his philosophical work, and highlights several themes that would dominate the writings of the last twenty-five years of his life.