Nishida Kitaro's Zen no kenkyu (Study on the Good) and William James

Abstract

It is well known that Nishida Kitaro's Zen no kenkyu (Study on the Good) was written under the strong influence of William James. Researchers have paid attention so far to the concept "pure experience" and made clear how Nishida's use of the term differs from James's in spite of the fact that Nishida borrowed the word from James. However, under the assumption that such attention to the term "pure experience" has until now failed to appreciate the real relationship between the philosophy of Nishida and James, this article takes notice of the following two points: First, both placed at the center of their individual views of religion a state of "religious experience" whereby man feels a sense of unity between man and god. But Nishida would argue his unique philosophy of religion, while James's approach to it was from the standpoint of psychology of religion as empirical science. Second, both show sympathy with Fechner, who thinks that the real world as we see it is essential, not the abstract world constructed by science. However, Nishida tends to monism, while James to pluralism.