Nishida Kitarō’s political philosophy The Significance and Necessity

On the relationship between responsibility and the sense of responsibility in the context of East Asia

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between responsibility and the subjective sense of responsibility in Nishida Kitarō’s political philosophy, specifically in the context of East Asian geopolitics. While the issue of responsibility for WWII remains hot in East Asia, it is argued that the subjective sense of responsibility should not be overlooked. That is to say, even if someone admits his/her responsibility, this does not mean that he or she genuinely feels a sense of responsibility. Or, even if one has a sense or feeling of responsibility, it does not mean that he/she admits his/her objective responsibility. The key is, therefore, the relationship between the two. Furthermore, we cannot take the terms 'subjective' and 'objective' for granted here. By re-reading the early and later Nishida, focusing on his discourse on ethics and the notion of Japan in the world respectively, this paper attempts to show how the sense of responsibility embedded in Nishida’s philosophy can help explain it in a way which embraces both subjectivity and objectivity, especially in the context of East Asia.