 However, their philosophies do not simply drift impartially on the seas of academic comparison, nor do they see themselves primarily as mediators of inter-religious dialogue. As existentially engaged philosophers, they are above all seekers after truth, and they argue passionately for the validity of seeing the self and the world in certain ways. As we have seen, while each member of the Kyoto School has his own vision of the truth, they share certain fundamental ideas, such as one or another version of the core notion of absolute nothingness and the idea of coming to a genuine self-awareness by way of emptying the ego. And however much their texts reflect an intimate dialogue with and critical appropriation of ideas from Western philosophers, it can be said that many of their main theses nevertheless reflect a distinctly Eastern influence.