In the parlance of modern Japanese philosophy, the term Basho denotes a field of experience underlying all conceptions of reality, while remaining itself conceptually ungraspable. The Basho of Economics, then, refers to the economy s hidden experiential ground, which has never been explicitly scrutinized, as such, by mainstream economics. We uncover this ground by discerning the tacit presuppositions of classical and neo-classical theories from the perspective of modern Japanese philosophy. In particular, we draw attention to the traditional atomist (...) assumptions implicit in their equilibrium-centered models. By breaking through these assumptions, we reconstruct the economy as a functional and relational world of habitual and creative activity outside of the scope of mechanical laws.". (shrink)

: An appeal is made to the foot travels of Matsuo Basho, especially his 1689 journey to northern Japan, reflected in his Narrow Road to the Interior, as examples of wandering. It is suggested that while the travels of a poetwanderer such as Basho are notably distinct from shamanic travels in some respects, they are similar in other important ways, for example in their capacity to give perspective to our everyday experience. Based on Basho's example, three aspects (...) of wandering are discussed that may be of aesthetic interest, and it is concluded that in the face of various technological and social developments in industrial societies that increasingly alienate us from our environment, wandering may help us to recover a sense of the depth of space, the real diversity of places, and our human lives in the larger context of nature. (shrink)

In this paper I argue that the concept of pilgrimage provides a unifying trope for the otherwise seemingly unfocused travel accounts of Bashō’s Narrow Road to the Interior and Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland’s Voyage aux régions equinoxiales du Nouveau Continent. I begin with a brief description of debates regarding the notion of pilgrimage. After that I show how pilgrimage as trope may be applied to the texts of these authors. This is followed by an application of the classical (...) stages of pilgrimage to particular phases of Bashō’s and Humboldt’s recounted experiences. I conclude that pilgrimage offers an illuminating new way to understand the travel accounts of these two writers. (shrink)

This essay considers the relation between two fundamentally different notions of place—the Greek concept of χώρα and the Japanese concept of basho 場所—in an effort to address the question of a possible “other beginning” to philosophy by rethinking the relation between nature and the elemental. Taking up a cross-cultural comparative approach, ancient through contemporary Eastern and Western sources are considered. Central to this endeavor is reflection on the concept of the between through an engagement between, on the one hand, (...) Plato, Martin Heidegger, Jacques Derrida, Edward Casey, and John Sallis, and on the other, Eihei Dōgen, Nishida Kitarō, and Watsuji Tetsurō. (shrink)

Japanese philosopher and literary critic, Kōjin Karatani, introduces a ‘third position’ that seeks to correct the limitations of post-modern thought and the problems of global capitalism. By restoring Kant’s ‘transcendental’ as the methodological basis for capturing the structural interstice between different theoretical positions, Karatani’s ‘third position’ allows for a re-introduction of Marxism in addressing the circulation of the capital-nation-state trifecta and its relationship to ideological superstructures operating within a closed discursive space. Many years earlier, Nishida Kitarō, the father of the (...) Kyoto School, had also developed a ‘third position,’ except that this standpoint seeks to overcome the cultural-philosophical logics of ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’ thought. As Nishida claims, Western epistemologies cannot be converted into universal standpoints because they fail to make visible the conditions that both precede and structure contradictory categories. In this paper, I will discuss and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of Nishida’s and Karatani’s standpoint of the ‘third.’. (shrink)

This article explores how the notion ofordinary aestheticscan stem, as well as the one ofordinary ethics, from thatrevolution of the ordinarystarted by Wittgenstein and further developed by philosophers like Cavell and Diamond. The idea ofordinary ethicsemphasizes the importance of everyday life and the particular details of our experiences. This concept can be extended to aesthetics, forming the basis of a modality of aesthetic appreciation that recognize values and importance in the details and nuances of everyday experience. One example of suchordinary (...) aestheticscan be found in thehaikupoetry of Bashō. Bashō’s poetry often focuses on the ordinary and mundane aspects of life, such as the changing of seasons, the sound of rain, or the sight of a bird in flight, but also on that lower world made of insects, rotten foliage, and excrements. Bashō conveys in poetry the core ofZenphilosophy, emphasizing the interconnectedness of all things and the value of living in the present moment. This approach to aesthetics offers an alternative to more traditional modes of aesthetic appreciation, which tend to prioritize grandeur, spectacle, and formal perfection. Ultimately, the concept of ordinary aesthetics invites us to find the intrinsic importance in the simple things that surround us and to cultivate a deeper appreciation for the richness of our everyday lives. (shrink)

人間の存在は元来「場所」的である。が、その「場所」の根本性格はどのようなものなのであろうか。私たちの存在が「世界の内にあること」と見られる場合、その世界そのものは「限りない開け」に於いてある。したがっ て我々の存在は「限りない開けに於いてある世界に於いてある」ことになる。この二重の「於いてある」は、二重性としては見えない構造のものであるが、我々の実際の生活の様々な領域の様々な営為にまで拡がる。本書は ハイデッガーの基礎存在論、ボルノウの空間論、エリアーデのヒエロファニー論、西田幾多郎の場所論、禅の十牛図などを手掛かりにして人間存在の基本的な構造を解明、考察する。.

A causa del transporte de alta velocidad, de las tecnologías de comunicación instantáneas, de la ubicuidad de los teléfonos móviles, del alcance planetario de los programas de televisión transmitidos por satélite, de la inmersión cada vez más acelerada en el ciberespacio, de la globalización del comercio, de la proliferación dé idénticos centros comerciales, cadenas de supermercados, multinacionales, etc., el espacio parece achicarse, los lugares pierden su especificidad, y la naturaleza va desapareciendo de nuestra conciencia. En este ensayo propongo que el (...) caminar por el paisaje, pero atentamente, y de manera poco asistida por ayudas mecánicas, puede someterse a un análisis estético que nos puede ayudar en la recuperación de la profundidad del espacio, en el re-conocimiento de la diversidad real de los lugares, y en la percepción de nuestras vidas humanas en su contexto natural más amplio. Enfoco este tema tomando como guía al Poeta japonés Basho Matsuo. Empiezo el ensayo describiendo su hábito del caminar poético2 Después arguyo qué el caminar poético en ciertos aspectos se parece al viajar chamaluco. A continuación, esbozo el esquema de un análisis estético del caminar y concluyo proponiendo la práctica del caminar como una manera de ofrecer resistencia a los efectos deslocalizantes y an-estéticos plasmados en las tendencias anteriormente mencionadas de nuestras sociedades. (shrink)

This article aims to bridge quantum physics, human cognition, and Kitarō Nishida's logic of basho. The primary claim is that the indeterminacy underlying both quantum and cognitive phenomena is synonymous with Nishida’s “absolute nothingness”, the ontological basis of the logic. By interpreting Nishida’s soku hi dialectic in terms of phenomenal appearances in awareness, Nishida’s term “basho” is equated with this place where awareness actualises thereby allowing Nishida’s three basho to be framed in terms of the degree of (...) subjectivity present within awareness. Connections between logic of basho and the theory of enactive cognition are set out with emphasis on how cognitive representation can be placed in the human’s enactive engagement with reality. As the logic of basho accounts for the dialectical nature of both quantum reality and cognitive reality, the article concludes that his logic can be seen as encompassing physical reality as well as the reality of (non-)subjective awareness. (shrink)

The general topic of my remarks concerns the place, or basho in Japanese, of transcontinental philosophy within the context of the Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy and the philosophical profession in general. I introduced the term transcontinental when as director of the thirty-fifth Collegium Phaenomenologicum in 2010 I formulated the theme of that year's meeting: "Transcontinental Philosophy: Interpreting Philosophy Across Borders and Idioms." Marking what was a historic first for the Collegium Phaenomenologicum—namely, engaging non–North American and European perspectives (...) on continental philosophy—the neologism transcontinental philosophy signified not only the growing global reach but... (shrink)

The article discusses Steve McCaffery’s The Basho Variations with a focus on various modes of transtranslation/transcreation/transaption of Matsuo Bashō’s famous frog haiku. The emphasis is placed on the complexities of transtranslation which deliberately alters, distorts and reimagines the source text. The intercultural and intertextual quality of McCaffery’s poems is discussed in the context of multilevel references to classical Japanese aesthetics of haiku writing. The comparative reading of McCaffery’s and Bashō’s texts foregrounds the issue of events, or “frogmentary events,” and (...) the importance of the role of the reader in completing poetic messages. (shrink)

レヴィナス思想における哲学とユダヤ教という次元の架橋へ。ツェランら詩人との思想交流から、イスラエル国家の問題まで―「場所」という概念を軸に包括的なレヴィナス像を描き出す。第3回東京大学南原繁記念出版賞 受賞作。.

In American universities, even Asian Philosophy is still often taught following methods adapted from European universities of the nineteenth century. Whether or not this approach is well-suited to philosophy as it was conceived in that era, it is inadequate if the aim is to develop a deep appreciation of Japanese philosophy. To limit what we consider Japanese philosophy to only what bears a distinct resemblance to academic Western philosophy, and accordingly to approach Japanese philosophy purely theoretically, is to risk missing (...) the greater part. Much of Japanese philosophy is applied philosophy, or in other words, what Pierre Hadot calls a “way of life,” and to appropriate it meaningfully requires practice rather than mere intellectual study alone. Thus, I contend that a proper means for introducing Western students is a more holistic method grounded in practicing traditional arts, such as composing haiku. I argue that the seventeenth century poet Matsuo Bashō can serve as a valuable resource in this process. I conclude with a description of the methods that I use in my efforts at teaching Japanese philosophy to undergraduate university students in South Texas. (shrink)

あの高名な「絶対矛盾的自己同一」とは、いったいどういう意味なのか―。西田哲学の本質をつかみ、その全貌をわかりやすく示す!

In December 2010 Kyoto University hosted a symposium honoring the hundredth anniversary of the publication of Nishida Kitarō’s An Inquiry into the Good. The following is an English version of a talk delivered on that occasion. In it I have tried to argue against the widely held view that this maiden work contains the germ of Nishida’s mature philosophy, and at the same time to suggest that an early strain of ambiguity regarding the notion of the will points to a (...) neglect of the natural world in his “logic of place.”. (shrink)

感情の取り締まり(ポリシング)、トランス排除、宗教右派からポストトゥルースまで。透徹した思考に貫かれた論考群。.