Keiji Nishitani was a Japanese philosopher associated with the Kyoto School, a group of thinkers who blended Western philosophical ideas with Eastern thought, particularly Zen Buddhism. Nishitani's concept of the "self-overcoming of nihilism" is deeply rooted in his understanding of nihilism and his response to it.
Nihilism, in broad terms, refers to the belief that life lacks inherent meaning, value, or purpose. It can arise as a result of various philosophical, cultural, or existential crises, leading individuals to confront feelings of despair, emptiness, or meaninglessness.
Nishitani's notion of the "self-overcoming of nihilism" involves transcending nihilism through a transformative process of self-awareness and spiritual awakening. Rather than accepting nihilism as an ultimate truth or succumbing to its despair, Nishitani suggests that individuals can overcome nihilism by recognizing its limitations and embracing a deeper, more profound understanding of existence.
For Nishitani, this self-overcoming entails a radical shift in perspective, a realization that the very emptiness or lack of inherent meaning perceived in nihilism is itself pregnant with potential for profound insight and awakening. Through practices such as meditation, self-reflection, and engagement with existential questions, individuals can come to recognize the interconnectedness of all things and experience a sense of profound belonging within the cosmos.
In essence, the self-overcoming of nihilism involves moving beyond the limited, dualistic perspectives that characterize nihilism towards a more holistic, integrated understanding of reality—one that embraces the dynamic, ever-changing nature of existence and finds meaning and purpose within the very heart of uncertainty and impermanence.
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Chapter 5 introduces Nietzsche’s philosophical themes and their connection with the overcoming of metaphysics and nihilism. Nietzsche’s work aims at deconstructing metaphysical categories and principles, and I describe Nietzsche’s genealogical and nihilistic theories as elements within an overall attack on metaphysics. For Nietzsche, genealogy exposes the historical contexts that metaphysics has relied upon and concludes that there are no external or eternal solutions to metaphysical questions. Consequently, any foundation that is judged by Nietzsche to be necessary is judged on the basis of life and not on metaphysical reason. Nietzsche questions foundational principles and the meaning and truth that those principles support. Nietzsche’s thought attempts to restructure meaning in service of life and not what he considers to be the life-denying capacity of Christianity and Platonic metaphysics. For Nietzsche, nihilism results from judging the world on metaphysical principles that human beings no longer believe in. He responds by embracing nihilism as a freedom that liberates humanity from illusory metaphysical structures. Nietzsche celebrates this newfound freedom as a power whereby one can set one’s own values. The philosopher’s task is therefore to create values in conjunction with ‘life’. (Heidegger and Nietzsche: Overcoming Metaphysics, Louis P. Blond, 2010, p. 8)
Chapter 6 examines Heidegger’s reading of Nietzsche in his Nietzsche lectures and publication of 1936–46. For both Heidegger and Nietzsche, nihilism and overcoming metaphysics are equivalent. The overcoming of metaphysics corresponds to what will come after metaphysics reaches its end. (ibid, p. 8)
Chapter 7 examines Heidegger’s summary of his Nietzsche interpretation in the essay ‘Nietzsche’s Word: “God is Dead”’.35 The question that remains is that given the breadth of Heidegger’s critique of metaphysics and nihilism, how do you respond to nihilism? How does Heidegger’s later work build on the overcoming of metaphysics and prepare for what comes after metaphysics? (ibid, p. 9)
