Nishida Kitarō on the Uniqueness of Japanese Culture – the Problem of Logic and Scientific Spirit
Nishida Kitarō on the Uniqueness of Japanese Culture – the Problem of Logic and Scientific Spirit

Author(s): Agnieszka Kozyra
Subject(s): Studies of Literature, Other Language Literature, Philology
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Nishida Kitarō; absolutely contradictory self-identity; scientific spirit; logic; Nakamura Hajime; Japanese culture
Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this text is to provide an analysis of Nishida Kitarō’s (1870–1945) views on logic and ‘scientific spirit’ in Japanese culture. Many researchers, including Nakamura Hajime, claim that the emotional, intuitive aspect prevails in Japanese culture, and the scientific and logical approach is marginal, therefore Nishida’s approach should be considered original and innovative. I introduce the vision of reality as an absolutely contradictory self-identity in Nishida’s philosophy and link it to the problem of distinguishing features of Western and Eastern cultures (India, China, and Japan). Nishida’s view on logic and the spirit of science in Japanese culture is confronted with Nakamura Hajime’s opinions. The theories of Nishida and Nakamura are good examples, since their comparison proves that national cultural identity is a rather fluid construct, often presented and interpreted in various ways.

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