Nishida Kitarō as Vitalist, Part1 : the Ideology of the Imperial Way in Nishida's the Problem of Japanese Culture and the Symposia on "the World-historical Standpoint and Japan"

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This essay is the first in a three-part series entitle "NISHIDA Kitarō as Vitalist". This series will demonstrate that vitalism or life-centerism constitutes the sustaining structure and conceptual horizon of NISHIDA's thought, which is usually portrayed as a representative modern Japanese philosophy. I will show that the concept of vitalism enables us to put into clearer perspective the complexity, limitations and historical value of NISHIDA's work. Conversely, the articles also undertake to prove the efficacy of this concept for the rewriting of Japanese intellectual history and the history of Japanese arts in the twentieth century, analyzing the trend of "overcoming modernity" thought. The overcoming modernity stream and vitalist thought developed as a result of the social, cultural and mental traumas and devastation caused by modern civilization from the beginning of the twentieth century.In this article, my discussion will focus on NISHIDA's late work The Problem of Japanese Culture (1940), which I believe to be the best for examining the problem of his political thought of the Japanese Imperial Way based on his vitalist notion of "historical life". Through examining the Kyoto School's well-known symposia on "The World-Historical Standpoint and Japan" '1941-42), which were considerably influenced by NISHIIDA's philosophy, I also hope to relativize the position of Japanese Imperial Way in the The Problem of Japanese Culture showed bravery and an antiwar attitude during the wartime. However, NISHIDA idealized the Imperial Way by forging its history, image of the Imperial Way was, indeed, produced by modern and contemporary Japanese history.Using NISHIDA's philosophy, the scholars of the Kyoto School, in the symposia on "The World-Historical Standpoint and Japan", insisted that the Japanese mission was to overcome modern European civilization and system of thought. Moreover, they justified and glorified the Japanese "Imperial War", in spite of NISHIDA's antiwar attitude. NISHIDA's theory has many elements in its system of thought which were easily changed to justify the war against Western imperialism and death for the eternal life of the nation. In this essay I will explore the question of what kind of effect the overcoming modernity debate and vitalist thought had in Japan, and how this defective nature came about by an examination of NISHIDA's late philosophy.
International Research Center for Japanese Studiesの論文

Nishida Kitarō as Vitalist, Part1 : the Ideology of the Imperial Way in Nishida's the Problem of Japanese Culture and the Symposia on "the World-historical Standpoint and Japan"

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International Research Center for Japanese Studies | 論文

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