A Topology of Nothing. From the Nothingness to the Place in Heidegger and Nishida

The paper aims at discussing the relationship between Martin Heidegger and Nishida Kitarō about the concepts of nothing and place in order to demonstrate that it is possible to propose a “topology of nothing” for both these authors. Both start from thematizing a concept of nothing against the substantialism of the western metaphysics and from underlining the necessity of an overcoming of the dualism subject/object. In Heidegger we find a concept of nothing as an ontological dimension in which the impossibility of any determination is central. This passage finds its acme in the so-called “topology” which characterizes his work after the Kehre/Turning. We can follow a similar path in Nishida who starts from the concept of nothing, passes through the concept of absolute nothingness and arrives at the concept of place/basho. Ultimately according to the “logic of the place” developed by Nishida the place can be understood as mu, such as “nothing”, a dimension in which no subjectivism is possible. In the place there is no subject who acts, but an event that involves and implies takes place in it. In this “eventuality” of nothing and place it is possible to find relevant points of convergence between Heidegger and Nishida.