A milestone in Japan's post-war philosophical thought and a dramatic turning point in Tanabe's own philosophy, Philosophy as Metanoetics calls for nothing less than a complete and radical rethinking of the philosophical task itself. It is a powerful, original work, showing vast erudition in all areas of both Eastern and Western thought.

Tanabe Hajime, 1885-1962, inherited the Chair of Philosophy at Kyoto University from Nishida Kitaro. The author of many important books and essays, Tanabe lived a life—as a thinker, teacher, and writer—of the utmost simplicity. This is the first of his book-length works to be translated into English.

"Tanabe's agenda was not religious but philosophical in that he tried to integrate Eastern and Western insights in order to acquire a cross-cultural philosophical vision for the post-war world community. . . . This book shows his superior philosophical originality. . . . It is high time that Tanabe's thought should be introduced to the West."—Joseph Kitagawa, University of Chicago