Montserrat Crespin Perales

Resumen: Como alternativa a los múltiples acercamientos y estudios sobre la filosofía de NISHIDA Kitarõ (1870-1945), en este trabajo se quiere presentar un avance de investigación sobre una cuestión normalmente obviada en las interpretaciones de la obra del filósofo. Se querrá mostrar cómo una mirada atenta a la idea de símbolo y las menciones a la poesía simbolista en la obra de Nishida ofrecen una clave plausible para una mejor comprensión de su sistema de la autoconciencia en obras como Intuición y reflexión en la autoconciencia (1917) o Los problemas de la conciencia (1920). Palabras clave: Nishida Kitarõ, Filosofía Japonesa, Autoconciencia, Poesía simbolista, Japón moderno. Abstract: As an alternative to the multiple studies about the philosophy of NISHIDA Kitarõ (1870-1945), this essay wants to present a research line about questions not normally considered in the interpretation of his philosophy. The intention is to demonstrate how a close look to the idea of “symbol” and the citations of symbolist poetry in Nishida’s works can offer a plausible key for a better comprehension of his selfconsciousness system that appears in works as Intuition and Reflection in Self-consciousness (1917) or Problems of consciousness (1920).

Paradoxical Utterances. An Approximation about Nishida’s Use of Heraclitus’ Fragments in An Inquiry into the Good (1911) The paper discusses the use of Heraclitus’ ideas in Nishida Kitarõ early work, An inquiry into the Good (1911), in order to show how both thinkers, distant in time and philosophical tradition, coincide in present the formative process of reality, defending a common principle that impulses the process (named logos and “pure experience”). It also discusses how these principles can be feasible strategies to escape from a substance-based ontology, but resulting in linguistic paradoxical assertions, able to show the possibility for an identity of opposites.

Although we cannot find any Aesthetics system in the works of NISHIDA Kitarõ (1870-1945), the most significant and influential Japanese philosopher of the twentieth-century, one of his central themes is the role of art and aesthetics in relation with morality and religion. His aesthetics approaches are magnificent examples of his aim to overcome the innate dualism that sustains modern epistemology and a door, apparently hidden, to a better understanding of all his speculative scheme of philosophy. This paper attempts to throw light to the importance of the first aesthetic approximation developed by Nishida eleven years before the publication of Zen no Kenkyû [ 善 の?究 ] (An Inquiry into the Good) (1911) and twenty-three years before the publication of the more accurate system of aesthetics that we read in Geijutsu to dôtoku [芸術 と 道? ] (Art and Morality) (1923). We will analyze the small essay entitled "Bi no Setsumei" [美 の?明] ("An explanation of Beauty") (1900) and Nishida's first definition of beauty as muga [無我] (self-effacement or ecstasy).