The Scope of Nishida Kitarō’s Theory of Place

Abstract

Nishida Kitarō (1870-1945) took much notice of Eastern traditions, but his aim was not a regression to them. His intention rather was to transcend that framework, to release this thought into a wider domain of inquiry, and to concretize and develop within it what the traditions of the East possess as their latent potential. Nishida’s focus on these traditions was thus both an attempt to revitalize them and at the same time an attempt to escape from them. It is in this approach to the Eastern traditions that Nishida’s thought remains relevant today.