Self-realization as self-abandonment

Richard Stone

pp. 267-283

in: Andrea Altobrando, Takuya Niikawa, Richard Stone (eds), The realizations of the self, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018

Abstract

In this contribution, I will use Tanabe Hajime's Philosophy as Metanoetics as a guide to explore the possibility that, in certain cases, self-realization can only be achieved via self-abandonment. Specifically, I shall rely on Tanabe's notion of the self-awareness of absolute nothingness to show that, specifically in cases in which the subject has met with their own relativity and powerlessness, a switch from active attempts at self-realization to a passive acceptance of a power greater than oneself (Other-power, in Tanabe's terms) can be the key to finding a new form of self-realization and forming new relationships with other human beings. While analyzing Tanabe's texts, I shall also reference group therapy organizations for substance abuse treatment in order to give my statements a more concrete basis.