ABSTRACT
There is a certain irony involved in demarcating two chapters according to Nishida’s biography, especially since I contend that such demarcations are misjudged, at least in terms of the content of Nishida’s political thought. However, whilst it is maintained here that Nishida’s later work is consistent with his earlier output, it is undeniable that he affected a shift in his political vocabulary during the 1930s, reflecting the shift in the wider social discourse. It is also undeniable that Nishida’s political profile shifted with the national and international events of wartime period in Japan. In particular, Nishida’s political work was pulled into the public arena. Hence, the chronological division of Nishida’s life reflects a shifting agenda of inquiry as much as a shift in the agenda of Nishida himself. Whilst Chapter 3 was concerned with extricating the neglected moral and political thought of his early career, this chapter will explore the later Nishida’s neglected philosophical consistency with his earlier work.
