‘Aesthetics’ as a keyhole of interpretation. Looking at the ‘aestheticians’ Nishida and Kuki

This paper discovers a commonality between Nishida Kitarō and Kuki Shūzō via their shared interest in the poetry of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Since both, Nishida and Kuki, also engaged in aesthetic practices themselves, this paper asks whether it is useful to regard Nishida and Kuki as “aestheticians”. It is argued that this perspective offers a fruitful approach to their philosophical works. Both applies aesthetics not just as object or topic, but as medium and place of philosophical practices.