Keiji Nishitani

In "Religion and Nothingness" the leading representative of the Kyoto School of Philosophy lays the foundation of thought for a world in the making, for a world united beyond the differences of East and West. Keiji Nishitani notes the irreversible trend of Western civilization to nihilism, and singles out the conquest of nihilism as the task for contemporary philosophy. Nihility, or relative nothingness, can only be overcome by being radicalized to Emptiness, or absolute nothingness. Taking absolute nothingness as the fundamental notion in rational explanations of the Eastern experience of human life, Professor Nishitani examines the relevance of this notion for contemporary life, and in particular for Western philosophical theories and religious believes.Everywhere his basic intention remains the same: to direct our modern predicament to a resolution through this insight. The challenge that the thought of Keiji Nishitani presents to the West, as a modern version of an Eastern speculative tradition that is every bit as old and as variegated as our own, is one that brings into unity the principle of reality and the principle of salvation. In the process, one traditional Western idea after another comes under scrutiny: the dichotomy of faith and reason, of being and substance, the personal and transcendent notions of God, the exaggerated role given to the knowing ego, and even the Judeo-Christian view of history itself. "Religion and Nothingness" represents the major work of one of Japan's most powerful and committed philosophical minds.

(c) Chisokudo Publications 2017A partire dalla seconda met del 1800, dopo secoli di indifferenza e di isolamento, la cultura giapponese scopre la tradizione filosofica occidentale. Si inaugura una feconda stagione di traduzioni di classici, di viaggi in Occidente, che segner profondamente lo sviluppo della filosofia giapponese nel Novecento. In questo contesto di grande fermento, il pensiero di Keiji Nishitani risente profondamente dell'incontro con il Cristianesimo, con gli esistenzialisti europei e con Nietzsche, in particolare; suggestioni che si intrecciano in lui con la grande tradizione filosofica orientale dello zen. Cuore della sua filosofia la scoperta dell'aspetto insensato e tragico della vita: tale supremo atto di negazione del significato dell'esistenza costituisce il punto di partenza per una nuova, pi alta consapevolezza della vita, per una definitiva liberazione da tale negativit e per il risveglio della coscienza religiosa.Anche disponibile in formato iBook per Apple

(c) Chisokudo Publications 2017Traduzione italiana a cura di Carlo SavianiAttraverso un serrato confronto con i principali pensatori occidentali, da Kierkegaard a Schopenhauer, da Dostoevskij a Nietzsche, da Stirner a Heidegger, Nishitani propone una lettura del nichilismo tesa a evidenziarne l'inaggirabilit . Un momento esemplare del dialogo interculturale che la filosofia giapponese contemporanea ha voluto stabilire con il pensiero occidentale.Il pensiero e l'opera di Nishitani Keiji (1900-1990), uno dei massimi esponenti della scuola filosofica di Kyoto, costituiscono un importante momento di confronto tra la metafisica occidentale e il buddhismo zen nell'epoca del dominio planetario della tecnica. Docente universitario e conferenziere internazionale, Nishitani ha pubblicato un vasto corpus di testi filosofici pi volte tradotti nelle principali lingue occidentali.

(c) Chisokudo Publications 2016Nishida Kitaro is a translation of essays Nishitani wrote about his teacher between 1936 and 1968. This series of meditations by one master on another provides a remarkable, living portrait of Nishida the person and conveys the excitement he aroused in his students. Focusing on Nishida's maiden work, An Inquiry into the Good, Nishitani penetrates to the core of his thought and presents it in language that is a marvel of clarity. The collection's concluding section, which deals with Nishida's critics, stands out for its lucidity and fairness.Also available as an Apple iBook

Six lectures by eminent Buddhist thinker Keiji Nishitani reflecting on Buddhism for the modern world.On Buddhism presents the first English-language translation of a series of lectures by Keiji Nishitani (1900–1990), a major Buddhist thinker and a key figure in the Kyoto School of Japanese philosophy. Originally delivered in the early 1970s, these lectures focus on the transformation of culture in the modern age and the subsequent decline in the importance of the family and religion. Nishitani's concern is that modernity, with its individualism, materialism, and contractual ethics, is an insufficient basis for human relationships. With deep insight into both Buddhism and Christianity, he explores such issues as the nature of genuine human existence, the major role of conscience in our advance to authenticity, and the needed transformation of religion. Nishitani criticizes contemporary Buddhism for being too esoteric and asks that it "come down from Mt. Hiei" to reestablish itself as a vital source of worthy ideals and to point toward a way of remaining human even in a modern and postmodern world.

Translation of an important work by the contemporary Japanese philosopher Keiji Nishitani.