Higaki Tatsuya - The Concept of the “Continuity of Discontinuity” in the Later Works of Nishida
Channel: European Network of Japanese Philosophy
Date: 2019-06-25

ENOJP4 Hildesheim 2018

The Concept of the “Continuity of Discontinuity” in the Later Works of Kitarō Nishida

Higaki Tatsuya (Osaka University)

Abstract: Kitarō Nishida’s concept of the “continuity of discontinuity” originates in his middle period writings. However, the transformation of his earlier theories of pure experience and self-awareness in these middle period writings is closely related to the concepts of the late Nishida. We can discern two trends in the late Nishida: one that tries to give logical form to a kind of continuity of discontinuity through the notion of the “Absolute Contradictory Self-Identity,” and another which tries to develop this idea in the realm of concrete acts of “making” through the notion of “poiesis.” At the foundation of both of these trends lies the concept of the conti-nuity of discontinuity, a concept that expresses a contradictory state of affairs in which something lying within a continuum suddenly transforms into something else. In this presentation I want to show, through an examination of several texts, how the middle period Nishida’s con-cept of the “continuity of discontinuity” is related to his late writings. This topic is closely related to theme of the present conference, “Crossings” (Übergänge). The concept of poiesis in the late Nishida refers to the making of various things (from objects to states, history, and science), and is clearly characterized by what Nishida calls “from form to form.” This is a scheme originating in Nishida’s earlier thought that describes the transition from the virtual to the actual. But the notion of “from form to form” also expresses how a disconti-nuity, as a rupture that enters the surface level, can bring about drastic changes. This concept shows that the transition from one state to another does not presuppose a “baseless” depth in the vertical direction, and highlights the significance of the moment of the “eternal now” within the “here and now.”

This talk took place at the forth annual conference of the European Network of Japanese Philosophy [ENOJP], 5 – 8 September 2018, Universität Hildesheim, Kulturcampus Domäne Marienburg, Germany.

More informations:
http://enojp.org/
http://chisokudopublications.blogspot.com/
https://enojp4.wordpress.com/

Art Direction: Robin Alberding & Jerome Ebeling (CC-BY 3.0)