TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction II. Definitions III. Why Rethink Affinity? IV. Nishida and the Unity of Experience V. Affinity, Sensibility and Expression VI. Conclusion This is the fifth and final installment of this series, and contains sections V and VI. V. Affinity, Sensibility and Expression If “reflecting itself in itself” is the universal formula … [continue reading]

TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction II. Definitions III. Why Rethink Affinity? IV. Nishida and the Unity of Experience V. Affinity, Sensibility and Expression VI. Conclusion This is the fourth of five installments, and contains section IV. IV. Nishida and the Unity of Experience If there is a recurring theme that runs as a single thread … [continue reading]

TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction II. Definitions III. Why Rethink Affinity? IV. Nishida and the Unity of Experience V. Affinity, Sensibility and Expression VI. Conclusion This is the third of five installments, and contains section III. III. Why Rethink Affinity? If we take Kant’s notion of affinity at face value, then we must conclude that … [continue reading]

TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction II. Definitions III. Why Rethink Affinity? IV. Nishida and the Unity of Experience V. Affinity, Sensibility and Expression VI. Conclusion This is the second of five installments, and contains section II. II. Definitions Sensibility Sensibility (Sinnlichkeit) is “[t]he capacity (receptivity) to acquire representations through the way in which we are … [continue reading]

TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction II. Definitions III. Why Rethink Affinity? IV. Nishida and the Unity of Experience V. Affinity, Sensibility and Expression VI. Conclusion This is the first of five installments, and contains section I. I. Introduction While the philosophy of Immanuel Kant deals nowhere explicitly with the concept of creativity, nevertheless he emphasizes … [continue reading]

Thus profound metaphysics is rooted in an implicit geometry which —whether we will or not—confers spatiality upon thought; if a metaphysician could not draw, what would he think? —Gaston Bachelard, Dialectics of Inside and Outside [I]f pure experience means to know things just as they are, then simplicity or passivity are not characteristics of it––the … [continue reading]

Thus profound metaphysics is rooted in an implicit geometry which —whether we will or not—confers spatiality upon thought; if a metaphysician could not draw, what would he think? —Gaston Bachelard, Dialectics of Inside and Outside [I]f pure experience means to know things just as they are, then simplicity or passivity are not characteristics of it––the … [continue reading]

Thus profound metaphysics is rooted in an implicit geometry which —whether we will or not—confers spatiality upon thought; if a metaphysician could not draw, what would he think? —Gaston Bachelard, Dialectics of Inside and Outside [I]f pure experience means to know things just as they are, then simplicity or passivity are not characteristics of it––the … [continue reading]

Thus profound metaphysics is rooted in an implicit geometry which —whether we will or not—confers spatiality upon thought; if a metaphysician could not draw, what would he think? —Gaston Bachelard, Dialectics of Inside and Outside [I]f pure experience means to know things just as they are, then simplicity or passivity are not characteristics of it––the … [continue reading]