Last Writings: Nothingness and the Religious Worldview [Paperback]

Kitaro Nishida (Author)

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Language Notes

Text: English, Japanese (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 164 pages
• Publisher: University of Hawaii Press (June 30, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824815548
• ISBN-13: 978-0824815547
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #377,284 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #60 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Language Nonfiction > Japanese

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most profound works of twentieth-century philosophy, April 3, 2010

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Brian C. - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Last Writings: Nothingness and the Religious Worldview (Paperback)

I can't resist being the first person to review this work despite the fact that I am still a LONG ways away from fully unraveling it's meaning.

This is, in my opinion, one of the most profound works of philosophy written in the twentieth-century (or any century). It is definitely not a light read. And unfortunately the task of unraveling this work is made more difficult for English speakers by the fact that most of Nishida's books are extremely difficult to come by in English translations. It is still possible to get An Inquiry into the Good, which was Nishida's first book, and you can still buy this book, which is his very last book. Nishida's thought underwent a tremendous development in the time between the writing of An Inquiry into the Good and the writing of this book. It is, therefore, almost impossible to understand this work if the only other Nishida book you have read is An Inquiry into the Good.

Unfortunately only six of Nishida's books have been translated into English. They are: An Inquiry into the Good, Intuition and Reflection in Self-Consciousness (S U N Y Series in Philosophy), Intelligibility and the Philosophy of Nothingness: Three Philosophical Essays, Art and Morality, Fundamental problems of philosophy;: The world of action and the dialectical world (A Monumenta Nipponica monograph), and this work. In my opinion it is at least necessary to read Intelligibility and the Philosophy of Nothingness if you are going to have any chance of understanding this book. The first essay in that work outlines Nishida's logic of basho, and the last essay explains his theory of absolute contradictory identity, both of which are essential to this work.

This review has been less about this book itself and more about what I consider necessary to understand this book. I think ultimately the profundity of this book will speak for itself if the reader is able to decipher it successfully. Perhaps as I make more progress in that task myself I will update my review. But for now all I can suggest is that for anyone truly interested in philosophy, and in questions about the nature of reality and the world, BUY THIS BOOK! And do everything you can to try to understand it. Even if it takes a lifetime it will be more than worth it.

(Also, for anyone truly interested in understanding Nishida's philosophy I would recommend picking up Nishitani Keiji's book on Nishida: Nishida Kitaro (Nanzan Studies in Religion and Culture), Robert Carter's Nothingness Beyond God: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Nishida Kitaro, Robert Wargo's Logic of Nothingness: A Study of Nishida Kitaro (Nanzan Library of Asian Religion and Culture), and James Heisig's Philosophers of Nothingness: An Essay on the Kyoto School (Nanzan Library of Asian Religion and Culture). To some degree these can help fill the gap left by the fact that all of Nishida's works except his first and his last are out of print)

Addendum: great news! There are two new Nishida translations. One of them is already available Place and Dialectic: Two Essays by Nishida Kitaro (Aar Religions in Translation). The other has not been released yet but it is on the way Ontology of Production: Three Essays (Asia-Pacific: Culture, Politics, and Society). I have not had a chance to read either yet but I am very excited that new translations are being made. Five brand new essays! Nishida's time is coming, I can feel it! Stay tuned...