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Religion and Nonreductionism in Nishitani Keiji's Philosophy

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Religion and Nonreductionism in Nishitani Keiji's Philosophy Back to the Source Religion and Nonreductionism in Nishitani Keiji's Philosophy Carlos Andrés Barbosa Cepeda TESI DOCTORAL UPF / 2017 DIRECTORA DE LA TESI Dra. Raquel Bouso García DEPARTAMENT D’HUMANITATS To Joshua. Acknowledgments This work would have been impossible without the gathering of many factors and, most especially, the generous contribution of so many people that it would be impossible to name them all here. In whatever case, the responsibility for any mistake in the text remains entirely my own. I owe Sergio Orozco some references on the history of modern science. Sara Barrera helped me to navigate through the intricacies of classic Chinese etymologies and gave me useful comments on content and form in general. My colleagues in the Darśana group (National University of Colombia, Bogotá) drove my attention to the problem of meaning. Amanda Fernandes, Jonatan Navarro, and Lorenzo Marinucci listened to and discussed my ideas on many occasions. I should also mention the valuable feedback received from Prof. John Breen, Prof. Rein Raud, and David Rey. I had the chance to participate in two Ph.D. workshops, one organized by the Complutense University of Madrid (Madrid, 2016), and another by the European Association for Japanese Studies (Lisbon, 2017). To their organizers and participants, I will be very thankful for their kindness and stimulating comments. My talks with members of the European Network of Japanese Philosophy, inside and outside their recent conferences, helped me to gain confidence and at the same time to pay heed to the v complexities of studying Japanese philosophy. None of that would have been possible without my advisor’s effort to put me in contact with all the colleagues and professors I would benefit from meeting and discussing with. My stay in Barcelona was possible thanks to funding from the Colfuturo Foundation (www.colfuturo.org). At the very beginning, I could also count on the vital material support of friends and relatives, especially Fabio Fang, Margarita Cepeda, my parents, my uncle Gerardo, and my aunt Teresa. Àngels Bertran and all the staff at the Pompeu Fabra University’s Faculty of Humanities and library services were immensely helpful every time I needed their aid throughout these three years. To them and all the people whose support, no matter how small, leveled the soil I could walk on, I will always be thankful. And last but not least, I thank Carlos for his presence and care. He has constantly been the shoulder I can lean on. vi Abstract The present dissertation inquires into Nishitani Keiji’s nonreductionism in the context of the conflict between science and religion. Even though it is largely implicit, his nonreductionism proves relevant to the interpretation of his thought, especially in relation to questions about the essence of religion, the nature of science, and the meaning of life and reality. In the middle of revived controversy over religion’s reducibility (fueled by recent progress in cognitive science), Nishitani’s existential thought provides clues for a critique of reductionism and the disclosure of an alternative wherefrom the relationship between science and religion is not one of conflict, but productive coexistence. It is then relevant to discussing to what extent humanity can both benefit from the progress of science and technology, and fulfill the spiritual need for a meaningful existence. Keywords: Nishitani Keiji, reductionism, nonreductionism, science and religion. vii Resumen La presente tesis indaga en el no reduccionismo de Nishitani Keiji en el contexto del conflicto entre ciencia y religion. Aunque mayormente implícito, su no reduccionismo demuestra ser relevante para la interpretación de su pensamiento, especialmente en relación con preguntas sobre la esencia de la religión, la naturaleza de la ciencia y el significado de la vida y la realidad. En medio de una reavivada controversia alrededor de la reducibilidad de la religión (alimentada por recientes avances en ciencia cognitiva), el pensamiento existencial de Nishitani ofrece pistas para una crítica del reduccionismo y para desvelar una alternativa al mismo desde la cual sea posible una relación no conflictiva, sino de productiva coexistencia, entre ciencia y religión. Así pues, es relevante discutir hasta qué punto la humanidad puede a la vez beneficiarse del progreso tecnocientífico y satisfacer la necesidad espiritual de una existencia significativa. Palabras clave: Nishitani Keiji, reductionismo, no reductionismo, ciencia y religión. viii Preface I have tried to approach Nishitani Keiji’s thought in a way that simultaneously takes into account his attempt as an author and the questions that we might (or should) ask him from our contemporary condition. In this sense, the main methodological premise underlying the following pages is that asking about what the author meant and asking about what the study of his thought can tell us today are not questions that can be dealt with separately, even though they are different. From that perspective, I hope to contribute to showing the relevance and significance of Nishitani’s philosophy in our times. It is my conviction that there is no future for philosophy without an effort to reach out to other disciplines and fields. This applies all the more in the case of Japanese philosophy. In that line, even though this work belongs to the field of Kyoto School studies, I have tried to make it accessible to a wider audience. Much clarification might then sound already too familiar for specialists (especially in chapter 2), a circumstance for which I beg their pardon and patience. Concerning format and conventions, relevant Japanese terms are provided whenever necessary, but always accompanied with a transliteration preceded by a “J.” The same applies to Chinese (C) and Sanskrit (S) expressions. Transliteration of Japanese follows the revised Hepburn system (the most widely used in Japan studies). ix Chinese is transliterated in pinyin. Sanskrit words are written according to the IAST standard. Japanese proper names are always introduced in the traditional order: surname first, name last. Whenever possible, English translations of Japanese works are quoted first, then the Japanese source (if relevant). If the Japanese text is cited directly (because there was no published translation available), the translation is mine. The abbreviations employed for the works most frequently cited here are indicated in the bibliography. Barcelona, September 2017 x Table of Contents Acknowledgments........................................................................v Abstract.......................................................................................vii Preface.........................................................................................ix INTRODUCTION.............................................................................1 1. REDUCTIONISM AND RELIGION............................................9 1.1 What Is Reduction (and What Is It Not)?...............................9 1.2 Reduction and the Study of Religion....................................21 1.3 Mind and the Scientific Study of Religion...........................33 2. NISHITANI’S RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY..............................41 2.1 Background...........................................................................43 a) The Kyoto School..............................................................43 b) Nishitani’s Influences........................................................52 2.2 The Author............................................................................55 a) Life and Career..................................................................55 b) Style...................................................................................60 2.3 Starting Point: The Problem of Nihilism..............................62 2.4 Elemental Subjectivity..........................................................70 3. NISHITANI ON WHAT IS RELIGION......................................75 3.1 The Religious Quest as the Pursuit of True Reality..............75 3.2 The Topology of the Quest...................................................87 a) The Field of Consciousness...............................................90 b) The Field of Nihility..........................................................94 c) The Field of Emptiness....................................................100 3.3 Concluding Remarks...........................................................108 4. THE PROBLEM OF SCIENCE AND RELIGION...................115 4.1 The Conflict........................................................................115 4.2 The Diagnosis.....................................................................123 a) Religion............................................................................129 b) Science.............................................................................130 c) Reality as Double Exposure.............................................132 4.3 The Solution........................................................................134 xi a) The Kalpa Fire.................................................................137 b) The Nondifferentiating Love of God...............................139 c) The Concept of Natural Law............................................142 d) Existential Demythologization........................................148 5. REDUCTION AND REDUCTIONISM IN NISHITANI.........151 5.1 Science, Reduction, and Reductionism...............................151 5.2
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