Nothingness in the heart of empire : the moral and political philosophy of the Kyoto School in imperial Japan / Harumi Osaki.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Osaki, Harumi, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Philosophy, Japanese--20th century.

Philosophy, Japanese.

Nothing (Philosophy).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (306 pages)

Place of Publication:

Albany : SUNY Press, [2019]

Summary:

"In the field of philosophy, the common view of philosophy as an essentially Western discipline persists even today, while non-Western philosophy tends to be undervalued and not investigated seriously. In the field of Japanese studies, in turn, research on Japanese philosophy tends to be reduced to a matter of projecting existing stereotypes of alleged Japanese cultural uniqueness through the reading of texts. In Nothingness in the Heart of Empire: The Moral and Political Philosophy of the Kyoto School in Imperial Japan, Harumi Osaki resists both these tendencies. She closely interprets the wartime discourses of the Kyoto School, a group of modern Japanese philosophers who drew upon East Asian traditions as well as Western philosophy. Her book lucidly delves into the non-Western forms of rationality articulated in such discourses, and reveals the problems inherent in them as the result of these philosophers' engagements in Japan's wartime situation, without cloaking these problems under the pretense of "Japanese cultural uniqueness." In addition, in a manner reminiscent of the controversy surrounding Martin Heidegger's involvement with Nazi Germany, the book elucidates the political implications of the morality upheld by the Kyoto School and its underlying metaphysics. As such, this book urges dialogue beyond the divide between Western and non-Western philosophies, and beyond the separation between "lofty" philosophy and "common" politics"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Nishitani Keiji and the Bungakukai Symposium 'Overcoming modernity'

The Chuokoron Symposia concerning the philosophy of world history

The unity between the subject and the substratum of the state : the first characteristic of Japanese national subjectivity

The interpenetration between the national and the international : the second characteristic of Japanese national subjectivity

The reciprocal determination between the virtual and the actual : the third characteristic of Japanese national subjectivity

The outcomes of the two projects at stake in Japanese national subjectivity

Questions concerning Nishida and Japanese subjectivity

Nishida's political thoughts concerning Japanese national subjectivity

The significance and problems of Nishida's arguments about Kokutai

Nishida's criticism of Hegel with an eye to overcoming western modernity

Examining Nishida's philosophical project of overcoming western modernity

Reconsidering the issues of Kokutai and overcoming modernity.

Notes:

"This book was written based on [the author's] doctoral dissertation at McGill University"-- Acknowledgements.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781438473116

1438473117