Nakai Masakazu’s Function Concept and dispute about Concrete Universal

–From the point of view of Medium and Mittel–

Abstract

This paper focuses on the term of Medium and Mittel, expressing the reciprocity of ideas in the Kyoto School. Later in this paper clarifies the meaning of the Function Concept suggested by Masakazu Nakai. Concerning his viewpoint, the appearance of the library under the Function Concept is described. The meaning of the Function Concept is a concrete universal, considering the complex elements as a whole. However, there are two genealogies in the Kyoto School to understand the concrete universal. One is the concrete universal under a closed system called Medium. Nakai regarded the logic of Place from Kitaro Nishida as Medium, and he criticized that everything had been decided. Furthermore, since the characteristics of Medium can be found in Cassirer's Function Concept, Nakai suggests a concrete universal under an endless open system. Referring to the viewpoints of Kiyoshi Miki and Hajime Tanabe, Nakai envisioned a concrete universal as a system of Negative (purposiveness without a purpose) and Action.