This collection brings together a series of papers delivered at an international symposium on metanoetics held at Smith College, October 1989. The symposium was inspired by publication of the English translation of Tanabe Hajime's Philosophy as Metanoetics in 1986, which marked another milestone in the introduction of Japanese philosophy to the West. Nineteen representative scholars in the fields of philosophy and religion discuss the implications of metanoetics and other aspects of Tanabe's thought for our understanding of Shin Buddhism, Christianity, philosophy, and society. Among the wide variety of topics covered are the meaning of Shin Buddhism for the West, the encounter of Buddhism and Christianity, and the relation of religious philosophy to society. (c) Chisokudo Publications, 2020. Also available as an Apple ibook.

A milestone in Japan's post-war philosophical thought and a dramatic turning point in Tanabe's own philosophy, "Philosophy as Metanoetics" calls for nothing less than a complete and radical rethinking of the philosophical task itself. It is a powerful, original work, showing vast erudition in all areas of both Eastern and Western thought.

This collection of papers focuses on Philosophy as Metanoetics, the seminal work of the celebrated Japanese philosopher Tanabe Hajime (1885-1962).

The past twenty years have seen the publication of numerous translations and commentaries on the principal philosophers of the Kyoto School, but so far no general overview and evaluation of their thought has been available, either in Japanese or in Western languages. James Heisig, a longstanding participant in these efforts, has filled that gap with Philosophers of Nothingness. In this extensive study, the ideas of Nishida Kitaro, Tanabe Hajime, and Nishitani Keiji are presented both as a consistent school of thought in its own right and as a challenge to the Western philosophical tradition to open itself to the original contribution of Japan.

This book brings together the work of two significant figures in contemporary philosophy. By considering the work of Tanabe Hajime, the Japanese philosopher of the Kyoto School, and William Desmond, the contemporary Irish philosopher, Takeshi Morisato offers a clear presentation of contemporary comparative solutions to the problems of the philosophy of religion. Importantly, this is the first book-length English-language study of Tanabe Hajime's philosophy of religion that consults the original Japanese texts. Considering the examples of Christianity and Buddhism, Faith and Reason in Continental and Japanese Philosophy focuses on finding the solution to the problem of philosophy of religion through comparative examinations of Tanabe's metanoetics and Desmond's metaxology. It aims to conclude that these contemporary thinkers - while they draw their inspiration from the different religious traditions of Christianity and Mahayana Buddhism - successfully reconfigure the relation of faith and reason. Faith and Reason in Continental and Japanese Philosophy marks an important intervention into comparative philosophy by bringing into dialogue these thinkers, both major figures within their respective traditions yet rarely discussed in tandem.

The Kyoto School's Takeover of Hegel: Nishida, Nishitani, and Tanabe Remake the Philosophy of Spirit is Peter Suares' in-depth analysis of the Kyoto School's integration of Western philosophical idealism with Japanese religious traditions. Suares traces the School's attempts to develop a doctrine of absolute nothingness using Hegel's dialectic of self-consciousness. Hegel's dialectic plays a formative role in the work of the three principal figures of the School--Nishida Kitaro, Nishitani Keiji, and Tanabe Hajime--yet many of its aspects are difficult to integrate with their neo-Buddhist outlook. Suares shows how this difficulty manifests itself in the ambivalence of the three philosophers toward Hegel: they are not only his adherents, but also his outspoken critics. Their criticism itself is no less problematic. The ostensibly Hegelian ideas denounced by Nishida, Nishitani, and Tanabe are often difficult to identify in his philosophy. On the other hand, many of their own theses, which they advance in express opposition to Hegel, are in fact quite compatible with his teachings. Given the pivotal importance of Hegel to the Kyoto School, Suares demonstrates how these misreadings signal a problem with the coherence of the School's broader worldview. The Kyoto School's Takeover of Hegel suggests how this problem could have been mitigated, making the School's philosophy of nothingness more effective than it is today.