愛知工業大学研究報告 99 第四号A 昭和59 年 ORIENTAL NOTHINGNESS Kohei Kohei KOKETSU 東洋的無 瀕旗康兵 ln ln this short paper ，1 would like to explain briefty about th 巴 philosophy of Nishida ，Tanabe ， Nishitani Nishitani and Hisamatsu. World ，" "Goethe's Metaphysical Background" and 1. 1. NISHIDA'S PHILOSOPHY OF ABSOLUTE "The Unity of Opposites." The first of these analyzes the the Mind which contains all reality according to NOTHINGNESS Mahayana though t. The title ， "The lntelligible World ，'" refers to the images and concepts present Although Kitaro Nishida (1870 時 1945) is one of ]apan's ]apan's greatest Zen Buddhist philosophers ， his idiom within the Mind. According to Nishida ， the Mind is and style of thought-organization are difficult for composed of four separate levels ，each supported by West 巴rn readers to follow. the next ， in the same way ， to use his words ， as a fine kimono is lined with silk. From the outermost level to Typical Typical of Mahayana Buddhism is his empha- the innermost ，we have: the Universal of ]udgment ， sis sis on the contradictory aspect of phenomeno th 巴 Universal of Self-consciousness ， the Universal of logical logical reality ，which is finally "nothingness" or the lntelligible W orld ， and then a level called "voidness. "voidness. "ー. Everyone who is familiar with Nothingn 巴ss. One fundamental aspect of Nishida's lndian lndian and Buddhist philosophy knows the philosophy is that being supported by or having a difficulty difficulty of rendering into Western terms and "place" in the Universal of the mind is a necessary concepts concepts those Oriental views which are ascetical prerequisite for the state of "being. 川 ways of approaching salvation rather than The innermost level of Nothingness ， although it philosophical philosophical concepts and therefor 巴 d巴fy ana- supports all the others ， does not itself rest on lytical lytical examination. Nishida ，though ， tried with anything ， so N othingness cannot be said to hav 巴 any the the help of Western philosophy to find a new logic "being" and ther 巴fore must be "nonbeing" or N 0- which would also incorporate such views. N 0 thingness. As such ，N othingness is the undistorted wonder ，then ， the difficulty in understanding him ， mirror of the Mind ，reftecting all finite objects.' The and his constant complaint that he was never "external world" of personality and individuality are understood understood even by his best pupils ， Orinetals included in the Universal of ]udgmen t. All d巴finable though they were ， familiar with his cultural phenomena are "predicates" of the Universal ，and background. background. ーー. the fact remains that Nishida is among these is that of self conceived of as an individual individual thinke r. What is the subject (thinker) of the the most demanding thinker ]apan ever produce 田 d. d. To understand him the reader must bring ， in these predicates ，and how does the concept of an addition addition to a competent knowledge of Western individual self come forth? we can answer these and Eastern philosophy ，a willingness to try to questions by proceeding to the second level of the see see "the beyond" which is Nishida himself. The Mind ， the Universal of Self-consciousness crux crux of the matter is ，1 think ， that Nishida wants On the second level ， consciousness of the self as to to be a universal thinke r. To put it better ，though "something thinking" rather than "something thought Nishida Nishida wants indeed to give his logic to Oriental " occurs.' If these first two levels of the Mind were all culture ， his aim is also to place it in a world that existed ，we might think there was a definite and culture ， to make it universa l. It is this bold inherent di 任erence between thinker and thoughts ， or attempt attempt much more than his poetical style or his between subject and object ， but exploring further ，we overly-repetitious overly-repetitious accumulation of dialectical discover the Universal of the lnt 巴lligible W orld ， negations ，which gives rise to the complexity of where these divisions ar 巴 erased. 6 At this level ， Nishida's Nishida's thought and the reader's difficulties. 1 subject and object are combined and indistinguishable from each othe r. However ， there is an apparent ln ln his book ， lntelligibility and the Philosophy 01 contradiction in this Universal ，because ， like Plato's Nothingness. Nothingness. there are three essays: "The lntelligible world of ideas ， there is some incongruity between 100 100 Kohei KOKETSU what is and what ought to be. At this level ， "in the goes where there is nothing degree degree in which the conscience sharpens ，one feels And just in this coming from nothingness and more guilty."7 Arriviing at the innermost level of the going into nothingness ther 巴 is the gentle sound Mind ，N othingness ， even moral contradictions cease of humanity. to to exist. At this level ，any distinction between values ， Yes ， Goethe's universalism is just the opposite like like good and evil are understood as meaningless of that of Spinoza. His philosophy of life ， based on this kind of universalism ， does not remind us Existence Existence of the moral Self means conscious- of the intellectual love of the Stoic sage ， but of ness ness of one's own imperfection ，and an infinite the love of Maria ， the Eternal-Womanly.12 striving striving towards the idea l. In the degree in which the the conscience sharpens ， one feels more guilty. In the following lines from Faust ， Nishida 自nds To solve this contradiction ，and to see the true indications of the N othingness constituting Goethe's depth depth of the Self ， means to reach religious metaphysical background : salvation. salvation. Man comes to know the real bottom of the the Self ， only by denying himself completely. In "All earth comprises this this state of mind ， there is neither good nor evil 1s symbol alone ; By transcending even the intelligible Self in the What there ne'er su 伍ces direction direction of noesis. one frees oneself even of the As fact here is known : free free wil l. There is no more Self which could sin. All past the humanly Even the idea of the good is the shadow of Wrought here in love; something that is without form 8 The Eternal-Womanly Draws us above".13 In In the end ，reality is this formless N othingness ， in which there is no di 仔erence between good and evil ，no In his essay ，"The Unity 01 Ottosites" ， Nishida conception conception of the self as an individual ，no distinction discusses the philosophy of N othingness as it applies between subject and object ， nor among all the to problems such as the apparent di 妊erence between particular particular predicates of th 巴 Universal of Judgment. past and future ，and between one and many. These The essay ， "Goethe's Meta 戸，hysical Background ，" seemingly antithetical concepts are formed in the was written to show that Goethe had an intuitive unity of real experience. The past consists of events understanding understanding of N othingness. already fixed and unchangeable ， while in the future ， To depict eternity ，Greek artists used perfection of an infinite number of potential new forms can be form ， but Oriental art is "formless 吋 with eternity a conceived to exis t. In an abstract sense ， history part part of the background ，which "embraces all things progresses from past to future ， but in actual reality ， from behind."10 It has also been said that Goethe's there is only the present. One can exist neither in the poetry poetry is formless ， communicating a feeling of past nor in the future ， yet information on the individuality individuality against a background of N othingness concretely determined past and expectations of the Nishida Nishida says: nebulous future are opposites which are conjoin 巴d only only in the unity of the moment of experience. .. Goethe's pantheism encloses individuality This present is a point without duration. Even an everywhere. everywhere. Nature ， in Goethe's sense ， does not infinitely short movement in any direction will take deny individuality ， but produces som 巴thing us into the past of future ， both of which are beyond individual individual everywhere. This nature is like an the realm of actual experience: we dwell only in the infinite infinite space which ， itself formless ， produces duratioriless present. The "World" proceeds from form everywhere. Like the moonlight in "An den present to presen t. The point where the indefinite Mond" ， like the sea in "Der Fischer" ，and like the future turns into unchangeable past is the moment of mist mist in "Erlkonig" ， Goethe's "nature" is essential- "forming" and is called the present. Thus ， history is ly ly something that harmonizes with our heart. ll the movement from "formed" to "forming" experienc- ed ed in the timeless present. The forming (present) Goethe's Goethe's Nature both produces and encloses indivi- includes both the fo 口ned (past) and the unformed dual dual forms at the same time in the pantheistic sense ， (future) and is therefore a unity of these opposites. and as such cannot be distinguished from Buddhist Nishida says: N othingness In In the world as unity of opposites ，moving from Goethe's Goethe's universalism does not ， like Spinoza's ， the formed towards the forming ， past and future ， reduce reduce everything to the one substance ， denying negating each other ， join in the present; the man; he sees all things in man. '.. For Goethe ， present ， as unity of opposites ， has form ， and there there is no inward and no outward ; everything is moves ， forming itself ，from present to present as as it is; it comes from where ther 巴 is nothing ，and The world moves ， as one single present ，from the ORIENT AL NOTHINGNESS 101 formed to the forming.