“Historical Nature in Nishida and Kimura Motomori
- Autores: Takaya Shōko
- Localización: European Journal of Japanese Philosophy: EJJP, ISSN-e 2367-3095, Nº. 7, 2022, págs. 171-190
- Idioma: inglés
- Enlaces
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Resumen
This study attempts to develop an account of human responsibility for environmental problems by focusing on Nishida Kitarō’s concept of “historical nature” (歴史的自然), and its extension to the contexts of culture and education by one of his disciples, Kimura Motomori (1895–1946). Historical nature is the creative ground that enables us to make things and produce knowledge in the historical world. This concept of historical nature helped Kimura to reformulate his key concept of “expression” and conceive of culture and education as “the cultivation of historical nature.” Both Nishida’s and Kimura’s descriptions suggest that human beings maintain a certain independence from, but are in harmony with, historical nature. To further investigate the possibility of disharmony between humans and historical nature in the context of environmental problems, this study focuses on Nishida’s insight into “death in life.” By extending both Nishida and Kimura’s thought, this study develops an account of human responsibility for the disharmonious development of historical nature resulting from the impact of human activity on the environment.
