Metanoetics (from "conversion, repentance" from μετανοῶ "I repent"; ''zangedō'' from ''dō'' 道 “path” and ''zange'' 懺悔 “confession, penance, repentance”) is a neologism coined by

Hajime Tanabe was a Japanese philosopher of science, particularly of mathematics and physics. His work brought together elements of Buddhism, scientific thought, Western philosophy, Christianity, and Marxism. In the postwar years, Tanabe coined the concept o ...

in his 1945 work ''Philosophy as Metanoetics''. The term denotes a way of doing philosophy (or a form of "

non-philosophy Non-philosophy () is a concept popularized by French philosopher François Laruelle. Precursors German philosopher Adam Karl August von Eschenmayer developed an early approach to philosophy called non-philosophy (). He defined it as a kind of my ...

") that understands the limits of reason. Though the method used by Tanabe to reach this conclusion relies on the transcendental analysis developed by

Kant Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, et ...

, Tanabe aligns the method with the Buddhist concept of Absolute Nothingness and ideas from of

Pure Land Buddhism Pure Land Buddhism or the Pure Land School ( zh, c=淨土宗, p=Jìngtǔzōng) is a broad branch of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhism focused on achieving rebirth in a Pure land, Pure Land. It is one of the most widely practiced traditions of East Asi ...

Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

, and

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. Tanabe states that Kant did not take the critique of reason far enough. By this Tanabe means that a radical critique of reason should question whether reason itself can understand its ability to embody self-awareness and ultimate reality. The individual exercising reason should remain aware of the crisis of reason and see the

antinomy In philosophy, an antinomy (Ancient Greek: 'against' + 'law') is a real or apparent contradiction between two conclusions, both of which seem justified. It is a term used in logic and epistemology, particularly in the philosophy of Immanuel Kant. ...

, those rationally unsolvable contradictions that reason unearths, as the basis for personal renewal. The crisis of reason is not just a disruption of thought; it also involves a crisis of will. As the individual understands the radical limits of reason in facing the antinomies, they become aware of what Kant called

radical evil Radical evil () is a phrase used by German philosopher Immanuel Kant, one representing the Christian term, (the root of evil). Kant believed that human beings naturally have a tendency to be evil. He explains radical evil as corruption that entir ...

. This is the will to act according to desires beyond those presented by rational reflection. With this realization comes further crisis and thereby the possibility of metanoia. In this state of crisis, the individual gains the perspective required to see another source of enlightenment. Tanabe uses the Pure Land Buddhist term of " other-power" to denote this source, also called Absolute Nothingness. This metanoia realizes the inadequacy of human efforts to discover the source of self-awareness and surrenders to it. This surrender provides the power to continue the search for meaning within the midst of everyday life and to act in a compassionate and charitable way to bring others to self-realization.

Bibliography

*Tanabe, Hajime, ''Philosophy as Metanoetics'' (Nanzan Studies in Religion and Culture), Yoshinori Takeuchi, Valdo Viglielmo, and James W. Heisig (Translators), University of California Press (April 1987), . * Unno, Taitetsu and Heisig, James W. (editors), ''The Religious Philosophy of Tanabe Hajime: The Metanoetic Imperative'' (Nanzan Studies in Religion and Culture), Asian Humanities Press (June 1990), , {{ISBN, 978-0-89581-873-7. *Wattles, Jeffrey
"Dialectic and Religious Experience in Tanabe Hajime's Philosophy as Metanoetics"
*

'. Religious philosophical concepts Kyoto School