James W. Heisig, 'Non-I and Thou: Nishida, Buber, and the moral consequences of self-actualization'

Philosophy East and West, Volume 50 (april 2000), 179-207

Ten years after Buber published his I and Thou, the Japanese philosopher Nishida Kitaro published a book of the same title, knowing only Buber's name but nothing of his ideas. A comparison of these two works suggests certain fundamental differences between philosophies of being and philosophies of nothingness regarding the nature of human relationships. In particular, it points to the inherent tendency of the latter to remove moral responsibility and social consciousness to high but ineffective levels of abstraction.