The Origins of Modern Japanese Philosophy

Nishida Kitaro is widely considered as the first original philosopher in modern Japan. Addressing this claim, Richard Stone critically examines Nishida''s relation to his contemporary philosophers in the Meiji era (1868-1912), highlighting the continuity, difference and relationships between them.Stone reassesses the notion that Nishida''s An Inquiry into the Good (1911) was substantially more philosophically worthwhile than any preceding attempts at philosophy in Japan, whilst demonstrating how his early ideas were heavily influenced by the work of thinkers such as Inoue Enryo, Onishi Hajime and Miyake Setsurei. He argues that original philosophy in Japan did not suddenly start with Nishida. Instead, it developed within a process of methodological refinement, wherein ideas starting from early Meiji philosophers were gradually given more rigorous treatment over the course of the era, eventually culminating in Nishida''s early philosophy.Providing an in-depth analysis of Nishida''s work that brings it into dialogue with his predecessors, The Origins of Modern Japanese Philosophy offers an engaging insight into the Meiji period as background to Nishida''s philosophical formation.>

Préface
Brings Nishida Kitaro's work into dialogue with his contemporary philosophers in Meiji Japan.

Auteur
Richard Stone is Assistant Professor at Waseda University, Japan.

Contenu
Preface Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Timeline Introduction 1. The Middle Path and Pure Experience: A Re-Evaluation of the 'Beginning' of Modern Japanese Philosophy 2. Direct Experience and the Problem of Meaning: Motora Yujiro, Nishida Kitaro, and Takahashi Satomi 3. Individualism and Pure Experience: Interpreting the Early Nishida's Ethics with Reference to the Theory of Self-Realization 4. Re-visiting the 'True' Self in An Inquiry into the Good: As Seen from the Perspective of Meiji Organicism Conclusion: Continuities and Discontinuities with the Meiji Era Nishida Kitaro as a Turning Point Notes References Index