The Dialectics of Absolute Nothingness investigates the appropriations, critiques, and innovative interpretations of German philosophy by the Kyoto School, showing how central concepts of German philosophical traditions found a place within non-Western frameworks such as Zen and Pure Land Buddhism, thereby transcending the original Western context.

Kyoto School philosophers critically engaged with their own tradition and grappled with classical German philosophy from Kant to German Idealism and from Neo-Kantianism to German phenomenology. Far from mimicking the Western tradition, Nishida, Tanabe, Nishitani and other Japanese philosophers overcame their sense of alienation from European philosophy by making its concepts their own and advancing their ideas as a hybrid of European and Japanese philosophy through which they developed their own world historical perspective.

Showcasing the ways that Kyoto School philosophers internalized German philosophy and generated their own original perspectives, The Dialectics of Absolute Nothingness demonstrates the Kyoto School's potential for culturally diversifying the study of German philosophy and paves the way for the comprehensive study of Asian philosophy in European and global contexts.

Gregory S. Moss is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is the author of Hegel's Foundation Free Metaphysics.

Takeshi Morisato is a Lecturer in Non-Western Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. He is the author of Tanabe Hajime and the Kyoto School.

The Dialectics of Absolute Nothingness contains a fascinating set of studies showing how authors in the Kyoto school appropriated Classical German Philosophy. Following Nishida, they developed novel solutions to problems discussed in Kant, Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel. Rather than engage in abstract and ahistorical comparison, the contributions to this volume trace the actual reception of German Philosophy in Japan. They show that a truly global philosophy is nothing of the future; it has already begun.

John Krummel, author of Nishida Kitarō's Chiasmatic Chorology:

The Dialectics of Absolute Nothingness, starting with its beautifully written introduction that sets the problem, aims to explore how the Kyoto School thinkers attempted to integrate but also transcend, cancelling and preserving in dialectical fashion, German philosophy. For this purpose, Moss and Morisato have succeeded in gathering essays of high quality by an international cast of top scholars, from Japan and the West, investigating the topic from different angles. The book is a must-read for students and scholars of German philosophy, interested in its global impact, as well as of Japanese philosophy, interested in its place within the global context and its relation to Western thought.

Ching Yuen Cheung, The University of Tokyo:

This book not only makes classical German thought and modern Japanese philosophy relevant for contemporary philosophy but also demonstrates how we philosophize beyond borders.

Jacob McNulty, author of Hegel's Logic and Metaphysics:

This is a pathbreaking and indispensable volume that fills a gap in the reception history of German idealist philosophy. Anyone interested in the Kyoto School and its debt to Fichte, Hegel, and others should start here.