Tanabe Hajime: Philosophy as a Path of Repentance

The book Philosophy as Metanoetics by the Japanese philosopher Tanabe Hajime written in the last year of WW2 marks an important turning point in his career which is interesting in terms of the influence of historical events on philosophical thought, the philosopher’s responsibility to society and rethinking of self-image, own existence and methods of philosophy, seemingly topical nowadays.

The key topic of this study on late Tanabe is the focus on philosophy as on a self-critical process, taking place in parallel with the inner rebirth of philosopher.

The result of the rethinking of the Western philosophy foundations of Tanabe in his inquiry on the subject, philosophy of history, absolute mediation, idea of freedom, problem of the Evil, dialectics was primarily critical. This rethinking manifested itself in Tanabe’s appeal to national spiritual tradition, a religious philosophy combining separate Buddhist doctrines, in particular the teachings of Shinran and the Jodo school.

The example of Tanabe’s project of philosophy as a path of repentance shows how the modernized Buddhist worldview helps to find a philosophical resolution of the crisis. The study of the latest research on the political role of the Kyoto School during the WW2 and the analysis of primary sources contributed to a more balanced assessment on the historical signifiance of Tanabe philosophy.