Q0660
“We discover ourselves in the cold — and in the same moment…” — Watsuji Tetsuro (Climate and Culture (Bownas; intentional experience…)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: Climate and Culture (Bownas; intentional experience of cold). Theme: nature.
English
We discover ourselves in the cold — and in the same moment we discover the cold in ourselves — before any sharp division of subject and object.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to Climate and Culture (Bownas; intentional experience of cold) 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 Watsuji Tetsuro
Watsuji Tetsurō (1889–1960) was a Japanese ethicist associated with Kyoto intellectual life who criticized Heidegger for privileging temporality and the isolated individual. Climate and Culture (Fūdo) and the multi-volume Rinrigaku relocate ethics in betweenness (aidagara) and in the spatial-climatic milieu that shapes persons.
How to read this passage
Nature may mean physical cosmos, living world, human nature, or a normative standard of what ought to be. Presocratics, Daoists, Stoics, and modern environmental thinkers share the word while disagreeing about its force. This passage enters that discussion through nature, mind.
Concepts in this quote
- Nature
- Philosophy quotes about nature ask what the cosmos is, how humans belong in it, and whether “natural” can guide ethics or politics.
- Mind
- Philosophy of mind asks what consciousness, thought, and mental life are—and how they relate to body and world.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Watsuji Tetsuro. (n.d.). We discover ourselves in the cold — and in the same moment we discover the cold in ourselves — before any sharp division of subject and object. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0660
MLA: Watsuji Tetsuro. “We discover ourselves in the cold — and….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0660.
Chicago: Watsuji Tetsuro. “We discover ourselves in the cold — and….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0660.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “We discover ourselves in the cold — and…”?
The passage is attributed to Watsuji Tetsuro, Climate and Culture (Bownas; intentional experience of cold). The archive attributes this English wording to Climate and Culture (Bownas; intentional experience of cold) 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 Watsuji Tetsuro mean by nature?
Nature may mean physical cosmos, living world, human nature, or a normative standard of what ought to be. Presocratics, Daoists, Stoics, and modern environmental thinkers share the word while disagreeing about its force. This passage enters that discussion through nature, mind.