An Inquiry into the Good. Part I, Chapter 1 / Translation from Japanese, Introductory Article and Commentaries by S. Kapranov
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Abstract
This publication presents the Ukrainian translation of the first chapter of Zen-no kenkyū (in English translation An Inquiry into the Good) by Nishida Kitarō, a worldwide-known Japanese philosopher, recognized as the founder of the modern Japanese philosophy. He was the leader of Kyoto School, the most prominent philosophical trend in 20th century Japan. Zen-no kenkyū, a philosophical treatise, is his first book. The year of its first publication, 1911, is often considered as a starting point of the history of modern Japanese philosophy, being a synthesis of East-Asian traditional thought and Western philosophical ideas. Nishida, on the one hand, got Confucian education in his childhood; on the other, he acquired Modern education and mastered Western culture in its various aspects. When writing this book, Nishida pursued Zen practice, thus in his case “East-Asian thought” means primarily Zen-Buddhism. The book in question is the first attempt of expounding Zen experience in Western philosophical terms. Therefore, it is an important example of the reception of Western ideas in East Asia. The treatise has been translated into many languages, both European and Asian; still, until today there was no Ukrainian translation. The book consists of four parts: “Pure Experience”, “Reality”, “The Good”, and “Religion”. The first chapter, presented here in Ukrainian translation, deals with pure experience, which is the basic concept of Nishida’s early thought. Though the notion of pure experience has been earlier developed by Wilhelm Wundt and William James, it was subsequently radically reinterpreted by Nishida. The present chapter contains his analysis and critique of Wundt’s and James’ approaches.
