- Knowledge has various positions and orders, and perceiving objective objects and reflecting on subjective actions are not the same. Kant’s pure synthesis was not just logical subjectivity, but the unity of perception and thought.
- Willful experience, like perception, is a direct given, and as we deepen the position of subjectivity of perception, we can see more object world than natural world. Awareness of will is deeper than intellectual awareness, and the object world of will is constituted by cognitive subjectivity that is deeper than the natural world.
- True cognitive subjectivity is the unity of thought and intuition in the broad sense, not mere formal judgment subjectivity. Nishida calls it “Location” and considers it a transcendental predicate surface that becomes a predicate and not a subject.
- A place is neither a being nor a nothing, but a general person for whom judgmental knowledge is established. Behind the concrete general person there must be a further place as the reflective general person. Finally, beyond conceptual limitation is “The Place of Nothingness,” where one sees oneself.
- Nishida’s position is epistemological, not metaphysical. He goes beyond the Rikkert-style position of judgment subjectivity, starting from the judgment consciousness itself, and tries to clarify the formation of subject-object opposition and the meaning of know.
This is a detailed explanation of the concept of “place,” which forms the basis of Nishida’s philosophy, in response to Dr. Tsuda’s criticisms. This is a remarkable essay in which Nishida’s unique speculations are developed from the standpoint of epistemology, transcending the subject-object conflict and reexamining the deep meaning of knowing.
This page is auto-translated from /nishio/左右田博士に答う using DeepL. If you looks something interesting but the auto-translated English is not good enough to understand it, feel free to let me know at @nishio_en. I’m very happy to spread my thought to non-Japanese readers.