Nishida Kitaro Quotes
Nishida Kitaro was a Japanese philosopher and the founder of the Kyoto School. Bringing the resources of European philosophy, particularly German idealism and phenomenology, into dialogue with Mahayana Buddhism and Zen, he sought to articulate a distinctively East Asian philosophy in modern conceptual terms. The quotes below are attributed to Nishida Kitaro, organized by topic.
Nishida Kitaro on Knowledge
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Attributed to Nishida Kitaro:
“To know a thing is, in the deepest sense, to identify with it.”
Nishida Kitaro on Love
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Attributed to Nishida Kitaro:
“To love something is the deepest form of knowing it.”
Nishida Kitaro on Mind
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Attributed to Nishida Kitaro:
“Pure experience is prior to the distinction between subject and object.”
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Attributed to Nishida Kitaro:
“True self-awareness is to see oneself in the face of absolute nothingness.”
Nishida Kitaro on Nature
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Attributed to Nishida Kitaro:
“The world of acting individuals is a world of contradictory self-identity.”