Нісіда К. Дослідження блага. Частина ІІІ, глави 10–11 / Переклад з японської, вступна стаття та коментарі С. В. Капранова

Abstract

The publication presents the Ukrainian translation of chapters 10–11 of the third part of the work Zen-no kenkyu (Investigation of the Good) by Nishida Kitaro, a prominent Japanese philosopher of the 20^th century, the founder of modern Japanese philosophy. The third part of the work is devoted to the concept of good. In chapter 10, Nishida analyzes personal good. He comes to the conclusion that good should be called the harmony of various activities of consciousness. To define this harmony, Nishida turns to the concept of the deep unifying force of consciousness, which he identifies with personality. According to the thinker, a person’s true personality manifests itself in a state where “there is still no division into knowledge, feelings, and will, no separation of the subject from the object”. Ultimately, it turns out that human personality is a manifestation of the unifying force that lies at the foundation of reality. Therefore, the realization of personality is for it an absolute good. Chapter 11 is devoted to the problem of the form of the good, that is, the motivation for good behavior. Based on the fact that absolutely good behavior should be aimed at the realization of the individual, Nishida concludes that such behavior should flow from the inner necessity of the “I”, and this necessity can manifest itself only in a state of direct experience. Nishida calls the voice of such a deep need sincerity. He warns that being sincere does not mean blindly obeying one’s whims. On the contrary, it is about rigorous work on oneself. According to Nishida, good behavior must necessarily be conditioned by love in its highest sense – as overcoming the boundary between oneself and another, between subject and object. In the chapters offered to the reader, Nishida, same as before, actively refers to Western sources – philosophy (Plato, Kant, Aristotle, Spencer, Shaftesbury), Christian religion (the Gospel of Matthew and the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Galatians), as well as poetry (Goethe). From Eastern philosophy, Nishida quotes Confucius, the Upanishads, “Zhongyong”, the Zen Buddhist collection of koans “The Gateless Gate” (Chinese: “Wu Men Guan”, Japanese: “Mumonkan”) and Senzhao; he also mentions the Zen Buddhist artist Sesshu Toyo.