Leon Krings - Panel 4 ENOJP Paris
Channel: European Network of Japanese Philosophy
Date: 2018-01-05

“Nishida’s Theory of Embodiment: The Historical Body and Self-Cultivation”

— Leon Krings, University of Hildesheim, Germany

In his writings of the 1930s and onwards, Nishida Kitarō
(1870–1945) concretizes his abstract “logic of place” by interpreting
the “historical world” as the comprehensive basho
(place or field) of self-formation in which material as well as
spiritual processes of mutual determination between conscious
beings and things unfold. At the same time, he pluralizes
this concept by distinguishing different worlds and trying
to think the interplay between their contrariety and interconnectedness
as a “continuity of discontinuity” in which each
world functions as a “absolute contradictory self-identity.” As a
part of this integration of his logic into historical, spatio-temporal
relations, the body becomes a central theme in Nishida’s
writings, leading to a theory of embodiment grounded on the
notions of “historical body” (rekishiteki shintai) and “active
intuition” (kōiteki chokkan). Nishida’s approach to the body is
based on his broad intercultural acquaintance with different
theories from Europe, the US and East Asia. Additionally, he
draws from a wide range of disciplines like physics, biology,
art and religion and anticipates central insights of current
debates on “embodiment,” “embedded cognition,” “extended
mind” and “enactivism.” In this way, Nishida’s concept of
embodiment is a promising discursive field to create fruitful
entanglements between approaches form various cultural and
disciplinary backgrounds and to develop new theories and
practices of embodiment.
In an attempt to further develop Nishida’s theory of embodiment,
my method is threefold: First, I want to start
from Nishidas abstract logic of “absolute contradictory
self-identity” to show how he uses this framework to think
embodied practice as a way of transformation of self and
world. Secondly, I want to compare Nishida’s thoughts on
embodiment with those of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Humberto
Maturana, Gilles Deleuze and thinkers from the field
of “extended mind” and “enactivism” to connect Nishida’s
theory to a broader context of philosophical inquiry and at
the same time show differences between his approach and
others, locating his standpoint in the broader discourse.
Thirdly, I would like to use this comparative analysis to think
about the pros and cons of Nishida’s approach and to give
a short outlook on possible refinements and further concretizations,
drawing on phenomenological considerations
especially in connection to my current research on embodiment
in Japanese practices of self-cultivation (michi or dō).

This talk took place at the 3rd Conference of the European Network of Japanese Philosophy in Paris, Université Panthéon Sorbonne (Paris 1) and the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO) from November 2-4, 2017.

For more informations:
http://enojp.org/
http://chisokudopublications.com/

Art Direction: Choplair (CC-BY 3.0)