Revisiting Tanabe’s Critique of Nishida: Infinity and Contradiction

• Miikael-Aadam Lotman ^[1] ; Urai Satoshi ^[2]
  1. [1] Tallinn University

     Tallinn University

     Kesklinna linnaosa, Estonia

     
  2. [2] Hokkaido University

     Hokkaido University

     Chūō-ku, Japón

     
• Localización: European Journal of Japanese Philosophy: EJJP, ISSN-e 2367-3095, Nº. 8, 2023, págs. 99-124
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo (pdf)
• Resumen

  • Requesting the Guidance of Professor Nishida” marks Tanabe Hajime’s critical point of divergence from the philosophy of Nishida Kitarō. Tanabe’s criticism has been traditionally interpreted from the perspective of religious philosophy. In this paper, we argue that the main point of Tanabe’s criticism pertains to the philosophy of mathematics, viz. two conceptions of infinity. The infinite can be understood either in terms of potentiality or in terms of actuality. The prior preserves dynamism but rules out completeness, whereas the latter preserves completeness but rules out dynamism. While both philosophers believed that the world has an infinite structure, Tanabe clearly subscribed to the doctrine of potential infinity, whereas Nishida had an ambiguous attitude up until adopting publication of From the Acting to the Seeing. After the publication, Nishida adopted the doctrine of actual infinity. We will show that this turn was one of the main causes of Tanabe’s criticism