ABSTRACT

Political Philosophy in Japan focuses on the politics of Japan's pre-eminent philosophical school - the Kyoto School - and particularly that of its founder, Nishida Kitarô (1870-1945). Existing literature on Nishida is dismissive of there being serious political content in his work, and of the political stance of the wider school. Goto-Jones contends that, far from being apolitical, Nishida's philosophy was explicitly and intentionally political, and that a proper political reading of Nishida sheds new light on the controversies surrounding the alleged complicity of the Kyoto School in Japanese ultra-nationalism. This book offers a unique and potentially controversial view of the subject of Nishida and the Kyoto School.

chapter |8 pages

Introduction

chapter 1|17 pages

Theorizing dissent

chapter 2|24 pages

The politics of harmony and awakening

chapter 4|31 pages

(Re)locating the later Nishida

chapter 5|31 pages

Nishida’s shadow