Locus and Space

The Concepts of Time and Space in the Evolution of Nishida’s Philosophy

抄録

The notion of locus(場所)is arguably the most important philosophical concept introduced by Nishida Kitarō. Not only did it have a pivotal role in the development of Nishida’s thought, but also it is his most original contribution to world philosophy, and is at the same time a useful tool for understanding the intellectual tradition of East Asia. As such, locus has been at the center of many interpretations of Nishida’s philosophy. However, its relationship to the concept of space has been neglected in the hermeneutical literature, likely to avoid an oversimplifying interpretation of locus as a sort of empty container. However, the fact that locus is more than a spatial arena containing entities does not diminish the importance of the spatial connotations of the concept for its correct understanding. In this paper, I follow the development of Nishida’s ideas of space and time in relation to the basic features of his thought, showing how the recognition of the ontological relevance of the two categories, in conjunction with an implicit shift from a position centered on the idea of time to a position centered on the idea of space, led Nishida to formulate his notion of locus.