Most conventional understandings of Nishida’s philosophy locate Nishida’s later thought in the context of the “pure experience” of his early period. However, after the publication of “Self-conscious Realization of Nothingness”(1932)in his middle period, some aspects of Nishida’s thought represent clear departures from this context. The concepts of “others” and “transcendence” cannot be fully captured in the context of pure experience, which is principally concerned with the “unity of self and other” and “unity of man and god”. Namely these concepts will eventually be clarified starting from the middle period of “Self-conscious Realization of Nothingness”. This paper traces the transformation of Nishida’s thought with reference to the twin perspectives of others and transcendence. I particularly wish to problematize the relationship between the “acting self in the historical world” that appears in the late Nishida and the“absolute”discussed in his final essay“The Logic of Locus and a Religious Worldview(” 1945). I do so with the belief that understanding this particular relationship will lead to a final comprehension of the problems of others and transcendence in Nishida’s philosophy. While presenting this key discussion, the paper may also be considered an attempt to reconsider the entirety of Nishida’s philosophy from the perspectives of others and transcendence.
