Quotation
Last reviewed:
“To experience means to know facts just as they are, to know in accordance with facts by completely relinquishing one's own fabrications.”
Nishida Kitarō · Kyoto School · Modern · 1911
What does it mean?
Experience at its purest comes before our labels and stories about it.
Did Nishida Kitarō really say this?
The library’s label is Paraphrase or translation. Abe and Ives' English of the opening sentence. A translation from Japanese.
Where it comes from
An Inquiry into the Good, Part I, ch. 1, tr. Masao Abe and Christopher Ives
Approximate date: 1911.
How to use it
Notice the moment you hear a sound before you name it. That moment is his starting point.
A mindset reading
Much of what we call seeing is our own add-ons. Try to catch them.
Understand the philosophy
He goes on to say pure experience has no split yet between a knower and a known.
- knowledge
- mind
FAQ
What does it mean?
Experience at its purest comes before our labels and stories about it.
Did Nishida Kitarō really say this?
Paraphrase or translation. Abe and Ives' English of the opening sentence. A translation from Japanese.
Which work is it in?
An Inquiry into the Good, Part I, ch. 1, tr. Masao Abe and Christopher Ives Approximate date: 1911.