Nishida Kitarō and Mou Zongsan: The Possibility of Transcultural Ethical Discourses

Title

Nishida Kitarō and Mou Zongsan: The Possibility of Transcultural Ethical Discourses

Author

Wing Keung LAM

Page

73-100

DOI

10.6163/tjeas.2012.9(2)73

Abstract

This paper attempts to explore the potential of transcultural ethical discourses addressed by Nishida Kitarō (1870-1945) and Mou Zongsan (1909- 1995), the two representative figures of contemporary Japanese and Chinese philosophy. In so saying, this paper does not takes a "comparative" approach, which somewhat entails a kind of "nationalism" or "essentialism," but rather employs a "transcultural" method. In other words, this essay is not a "comparative" study between "Japanese" and "Chinese" philosophy. By adopting a "transcultural" approach, it is not merely a methodological reflection, but rather an indubitable strategy to unveil the potential of the ethical discourses posited by Nishida and Mou. Our concerns are, first, why do we pick up Nishida and Mou among the many others? Second, why do we put our focus on the ethical discourses of Nishida and Mou in respect of a "transcultural" approach? Third, how far have Nishida and Mou denoted the transcultural ethical discourses, and fourth, what philosophical insights do Nishida's and Mou's trancultural ethical discourses convey, especially in the context of Japanese and Chinese philosophy.

Keyword

Nishida Kitarō, Mou Zongsan, transcultural, ethical discourses

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