Q0653
“At the point of our deepest questioning of ourselves, the religious quest…” — Nishitani Keiji (Religion and Nothingness (Van Bragt, p.…)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: Religion and Nothingness (Van Bragt, p. 3). Theme: self.
English
At the point of our deepest questioning of ourselves, the religious quest awakens in us.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to Religion and Nothingness (Van Bragt, p. 3) 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 Nishitani Keiji
Nishitani Keiji (1900–1990) was Nishida’s student and a central second-generation Kyoto School figure. Educated in Japan and briefly in Germany under Heidegger’s orbit, he taught at Kyoto University and wrote Religion and Nothingness (Japanese Shūkyō to wa nanika), which confronts modern nihilism through Zen and Mahāyāna emptiness.
How to read this passage
To ask about the self is to ask what persists through experience, what can be known from the first-person point of view, and how character is formed. Some traditions treat the self as a substantial soul; others as a stream of experience, a social role, or a practical center of agency. This passage enters that discussion through self, knowledge, god.
Concepts in this quote
- Self
- Philosophy quotes about self explore identity, responsibility, and the examined life—from Socrates’ unexamined life to modern phenomenology and existential authenticity.
- Knowledge
- Knowledge is the philosophical study of what we can justifiably claim to know—and where certainty ends.
- God
- God appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat god as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Nishitani Keiji. (n.d.). At the point of our deepest questioning of ourselves, the religious quest awakens in us. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0653
MLA: Nishitani Keiji. “At the point of our deepest questioning of….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0653.
Chicago: Nishitani Keiji. “At the point of our deepest questioning of….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0653.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “At the point of our deepest questioning of…”?
The passage is attributed to Nishitani Keiji, Religion and Nothingness (Van Bragt, p. 3). The archive attributes this English wording to Religion and Nothingness (Van Bragt, p. 3) 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 Nishitani Keiji mean by self?
To ask about the self is to ask what persists through experience, what can be known from the first-person point of view, and how character is formed. Some traditions treat the self as a substantial soul; others as a stream of experience, a social role, or a practical center of agency. This passage enters that discussion through self, knowledge, god.