How were Tanabe Hajime’s ideas about the logic of the specific used to support nationalism?

In the 1930s, Tanabe Hajime developed the "logic of the species" to address the relationship between the universal (genus) and the particular (individual). He argued that traditional philosophical systems ignored the "specific" (species)—the crucial dimension of identity that defines a person as an ethnic, national, and cultural being.1

Tanabe’s ideas were subsequently used to support Japanese nationalism because they appeared to prioritize the interests of the Japanese nation over those of the individual and humanity at large. By framing the nation as a historical mediating force between the individual and mankind, his logic provided a philosophical basis for emphasizing national identity.12

It is important to note that Tanabe eventually rejected this interpretation of his work. By the end of World War II, he developed the theory of metanoetics, or "repentance," arguing that no intellectual system should be treated as absolute, as such claims can lead to the dangerous ideological excesses seen during the war.21