Intuition and Reflection in Self-Consciousness

Description

Nishida Kitaro’s reformulation of the major issues of Western philosophy from a Zen standpoint of “absolute nothingness” and ‘‘absolutely contradictory self-identity’ represents the boldest speculative enterprise of modern Japan, continued today by his successors in the “Kyoto School” of philosophy. This English translation of Intuition and Reflection in Self-Consciousness evokes the movement and flavor of the original, clarifies its obscurities, and eliminates the repetitions. It sheds new light on the philosopher's career, revealing a long struggle with such thinkers as Cohen, Natorp, Husserl, Fichte, and Bergson, that ended with Nishida’s break from the basic ontological assumptions of the West. Throughout labyrinthine arguments, Nishida never loses sight of his theme: the irreducibility and unobjectifiability of the act of self-consciousness which constitutes the self. Extensive annotation is provided for the first time in any edition of Nishida’s work. Historians of Japanese philosophy and culture, and all those interested in the interaction of Eastern and Western thoughtforms, now have a document which highlights many of the cultural, psychological, and intellectual dynamics that have shaped Japanese intellectual life in one of its most fascinating and ambitious manifestations. Intuition and Reflection in Self-Consciousness Contents Foreword (Joseph S. O'Leary) Preface Preface to the Revised Edition Part One: Introduction Sections 1—3: Self-Consciousness: Some Problems Sections 4—6: Meaning and Existence Part Two: Properties of Systems of Experience Sections 7—10: A System of Pure Thought Sections 11—13: Transition from a System of Pure Thought to an Experiential System Sections 14—16: A System of Perceptual Experience Sections 17—20: Problems of Consciousness Sections 21—23: Consciousness of Rectilinearity Sections 24—25: The Impossibility of Reflection Part Three: How Experiential Systems Are Combined Sections 26—29: Various A Priori as Grounded in the Mind's Demand for Objectivity Sections 30—32: From Number to Space Sections 33—34: Consciousness of Rectilinearity Sections 35—39: Spirit and Matter Part Four: Conclusion Sections 40—41: Absolute Free Will Section 42: Thought and Experience Section 43: Various Worlds Section 44: Meaning and Fact Postface Notes Index