The Kyoto School: Totality and Contradiction

While major Western philosophical movements in the 20th century looked upon claims to absolute knowledge with deep suspicion, the Kyoto School never abandoned philosophy's sacred vocation to know the absolute. Against the dominant disposition to look upon contradiction as an obstacle to absolute knowledge, the Kyoto School recognizes contradiction as the key to unlocking the secrets of absolute totality. The Summer School will think with major thinkers of the Kyoto School on totality and contradiction. Philosophizing with Nishida, Takahashi, Tanabe, Nishitani, Ueda, Miki, Tosaka, and Watsuji, the Summer School will also explore the contemporary relevance of the Kyoto School for philosophical thought in the 21st century.