Q0310
“The good is the realization of personality.” — Nishida Kitaro (An Inquiry into the Good)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: An Inquiry into the Good. Theme: good.
English
The good is the realization of personality.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to An Inquiry into the Good and files it under Kyoto School. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Nishida Kitaro
Nishida Kitarō (1870–1945) founded the Kyoto School at Kyoto Imperial University, forging a modern Japanese philosophy in dialogue with James, Bergson, Neo-Kantianism, and Zen practice. An Inquiry into the Good (1911) made ‘pure experience’ his early keystone; later essays develop the logic of basho (place) and absolute nothingness.
Interpretation
Nishida identifies the good with the realisation of personality, by which he means the actualisation of a unifying activity rather than the satisfaction of desires. In An Inquiry into the Good he argues that genuine experience precedes the split between subject and object, so the good is not a state one acquires but a coherence one achieves. This lets him treat ethics and self-cultivation as the same undertaking, continuous with Zen practice.
Why it matters
It reframes the good as integration rather than attainment — which makes the relevant question whether a person's various aims hold together.
Concepts in this quote
- Good
- Good appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat good as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
- Humanity
- Humanity names both the species and the moral quality of being humane—bridging anthropology and ethics.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Nishida Kitaro. (n.d.). The good is the realization of personality. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0310
MLA: Nishida Kitaro. “The good is the realization of personality..” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0310.
Chicago: Nishida Kitaro. “The good is the realization of personality..” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0310.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “The good is the realization of personality.”?
The passage is attributed to Nishida Kitaro, An Inquiry into the Good. The archive attributes this English wording to An Inquiry into the Good and files it under Kyoto School. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Nishida Kitaro mean by good?
Across 4 recurring voices here (notably Dhammapada and Philippa Foot), good is framed through Early Buddhism and Analytic Philosophy. Some passages define good; others warn how it fails; still others relocate it inside habit, community, or language. This passage enters that discussion through good, humanity.