 It should be pointed out that the Japanese term for “absolute,” zettai, literally means a “severing of opposition,” which implies the sense of “without an opposing other.” The contrasting term is sōtai, which indicates “relativity” in the literal sense of “mutual opposition.” The true absolute must embrace, rather than stand over against, the relative. The absolute, therefore, must not oppose itself to relative beings; rather, its self-determination must be such as to allow their mutually autonomous relations to take place. According to Nishida, it is only a philosophy of the place of absolute nothingness that can do justice to the notion of the absolute as well as account for both the autonomy and the mutual relativity of individuals.