This article introduces English translations of Tanabe’s two essays entitled “Moral Freedom” and “On Moral Freedom Revisited.” In these essays, Tanabe tries to understand the unity of the contradictory division between freedom and necessity, while remaining truthful to the moral experience. Freedom is ultimately characterized as ideality that we ought to realize in reality, while the stage of religion constitutes the ultimate end of such moral struggles. Tanabe does not clearly work out how the continuity of the (...) freedom-necessity discontinuity is possible in these essays. Nevertheless, we can gain insight into the early stages of Tanabe’s practical metaphysics that culminate in his mature works on the philosophy of religion. The translators’ introduction will highlight these points and also provide a brief description of the historical background in which the publication of these texts took place in 1917. (shrink)

This paper presents the first English translation of one of Tanabe’s early essays on Kant. Tanabe marks the occasion of the first translation of the Critique of Practical Reason into Japanese by providing his reflections on Kant’s theory of freedom in this essay. This creative essay by Tanabe represents the hallmark Kyoto School interpretation of Kant. Tanabe weaves his account of Kant with elements from other philosophers in an attempt to think systematically about the nature of (...) freedom. He agrees with Kant that morality itself “rises and falls” with the idea of freedom; however, Tanabe also tries to rescue some of the pitfalls he sees in Kant’s theory by reconstructing Kant’s account. In this brief, but rich essay, Tanabe unfolds one of the more creative aspects of his philosophy through Kant. (shrink)

In this paper, we first enumerate the problems that humans might face with a new type of technology such as robots with artificial intelligence (AI robots). Robotics entrepreneurs are calling for discussions about goals and values because AI robots, which are potentially more intelligent than humans, can no longer be fully understood and controlled by humans. AI robots could even develop into ethically “bad” agents and become very harmful. We consider these discussions as part of a process of developing responsible (...) innovations in AI robotics in order to prevent catastrophic risks on a global scale. To deal with these issues, we propose the capability-effectual approach, drawing on two bodies of research: the capability approach from ethics, and the effectual process model from entrepreneurship research. The capability approach provides central human capabilities, guiding the effectual process through individual goals and aspirations in the collaborative design process of stakeholders. More precisely, by assuming and understanding correspondences between goals, purposes, desires, and aspirations in the languages of different disciplines, the capability-effectual approach clarifies both how a capability list working globally could affect the aspirations and end-goals of individuals, and how local aspirations and end-goals could either energise or limit effectual processes. Theoretically, the capability-effectual approach links the collaboration of stakeholders and the design process in responsible innovation research. Practically, this approach could potentially contribute to the robust development of AI robots by providing robotics entrepreneurs with a tool for establishing a permissible action range within which to develop AI robotics. (shrink)

Dans son premier article, Tanabe soutient que le jugement n’est pas seulement un acte secondaire de la pensée : il est aussi l’acte par lequel l’objet est posé et sur lequel la connaissance se fonde, lorsqu’un acte d’attention se tourne vers le contenu de l’expérience pure. Dans celle-ci, objet et sujet sont encore indistincts. Ce jugement thétique fondamental diffère des autres jugements en ceci qu’en lui, il n’y a pas de décalage entre exigence et reconnaissance. Il est donc toujours (...) affirmatif et ne devient pas clairement conscient. Tanabe entend éviter ainsi l’idéalisme subjectif. (shrink)

In this paper, I argue that later Nishida's analysis of self-awareness (jikaku) provides a new perspective on the nature of self-awareness as understood in the philosophical literature today. I argue that the contemporary literature deals with two kinds of self-awareness; the higher-order theory understands self-awareness to be an objectified awareness and the phenomenological tradition generally understands self-awareness to be, at least primarily, a non-objectified awareness. In light of this, I first give an account of Nishida's ?acting-intuition? with reference to the (...) ?historical body.? Then I argue that later Nishida's analysis of self-awareness depicts the inadequacy of the two kinds of self-awareness as both being stuck in the subject-object dichotomy which, according to Nishida, is but one mode of experience, namely the mode of difference. Nishida provides an account that ultimately foregrounds the experiential mode of unity that negates any sense of differentiation between the subject and object. (shrink)

In most contexts, emotional support is crucial for the well-being of low-income single women and their children. Support from women may be especially important for single mothers because of precarious ties to their children’s fathers, the prevalence of extended matrifocal living arrangements, and gendered norms that place men as providers of financial rather than emotional support. However, in contexts marked by economic insecurity, spatial dispersion of families, and changing gender norms and kinship obligations, such an expectation may be problematic. Applying (...) theories of emotional capital and family bargaining processes, we address three questions: What is the gender composition of emotional support that single mothers receive? How does gender composition change over time? Does the gender composition of emotional support affect the self-reported stress of single mothers? Drawing on data from a unique data set on 462 low-income single mothers and their kin from Nairobi, Kenya, we uncover three key findings. One, whereas the bulk of strong emotional support comes from female kin, about 20 percent of respondents report having male-dominant support networks. Two, nearly 30 percent of respondents report change favoring men in the composition of their emotional support over six months. Three, having a male-dominant emotional support network is associated with lower stress. These results challenge what is commonly taken for granted about gender norms and kinship obligations in non-Western contexts. (shrink)

Comparative studies of primates indicate that humans have evolved unique motivations and cognitive skills for sharing emotions, experiences, and collaborative actions. Given the characteristics of music, the music and social bonding hypothesis by Savage et al. fits this view. Within a cross-species approach, predispositions not observed in current communication system may contribute to a better understanding of the biological roots of human musicality.

With our state-guaranteed or internationally recognized human rights, liberalism is rather a common basis of political discussion today. John Rawls’s theory of justice, which set a framework for liberal theory of justice in the last decades of the twentieth century, is notably contractarian. Martha Nussbaum, although claiming to be a neo-Aristotelian, argues that her capabilities approach (hereafter CA) can upgrade the liberal theory of justice, particularly that of political liberalism, to deal with unsolved problems of justice, namely, disability, nationality, and (...) species membership. However, this paper argues that her proposal issuccessful only when her CA-based theory proves its affiliation with political liberalism in more detail. As defined by Rawls, political liberalism produces “free-standing” political conceptions and rejects any metaphysical or religious ideas. It halts conceptions of justice that promote conceptions of good derived from particular comprehensive doctrines. I do not believe a mere convergence between CA and contractarianism is sufficient enough to secure the rational acceptability of her CA-based theory. I suggest that if she wishes to maintain her CA-based theory’s being politically liberal, she either has to prove more of the public, in particular the global public, acceptability of her intuitive ideas of human dignity without relying on her intuitions or alter the meaning of political liberalism itself so that it allows a room for some sort of comprehensive doctrine. (shrink)

The developmental modeling approach to investigating developmental disorders appears highly promising. In this commentary, we question the untapped potential of this approach for supporting insights into particular developmental disorders, developmental processes across the life span, and the viability of traditional theories of developmental disorders.

"Tanabe's agenda was not religious but philosophical in that he tried to integrate Eastern and Western insights in order to acquire a cross-cultural philosophical vision for the post-war world community.... This book shows his superior philosophical originality.... It is high time that Tanabe's thought should be introduced to the West."—Joseph Kitagawa, University of Chicago.

Previous research has shown that although infants follow the gaze direction of robots, robot gaze does not facilitate infants’ learning for objects. The present study examined whether robot gaze affects infants’ object learning when the gaze behavior was accompanied by verbalizations. Twelve-month-old infants were shown videos in which a robot with accompanying verbalizations gazed at an object. The results showed that infants not only followed the robot’s gaze direction but also preferentially attended to the cued object when the ostensive verbal (...) signal was present. Moreover, infants showed enhanced processing of the cued object when ostensive and referential verbal signals were increasingly present. These effects were not observed when mere nonverbal sound stimuli instead of verbalizations were added. Taken together, our findings indicate that robot gaze accompanying verbalizations facilitates infants’ object learning, suggesting that verbalizations are important in the design of robot agents from which infants can learn. Keywords: gaze following; humanoid robot; infant learning; verbalization; cognitive development. (shrink)

We propose protein localization dependent signal activation (PLDSA) as a model to describe pre‐existing protein partitioning between the cytosol, and membrane surface, as a means to modulate signal activation, specificity, and robustness. We apply PLDSA to explain possible molecular links between type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) by describing Ca+2‐mediated interactions between the Src non‐receptor tyrosine kinase and p52Shc adaptor protein. We suggest that these interactions may serve as a contributing factor to disease development and progression. In (...) particular, we propose that signaling response is regulated, in part, by Ca+2‐mediated partitioning of lipid‐bound and soluble forms of Src and p52shc. Thus, protein‐protein interactions that drive signaling in response to extracellular ligand binding are also mediated by partitioning of signaling proteins between membrane‐bound and soluble populations. We propose that PLDSA effects may explain, in part, the evolutionary basis of promiscuous protein interaction domains and their importance in cellular function. (shrink)

With the development of assisted reproductive technologies, medical, ethical, legal, and social issues have arisen that did not exist when natural conception was the only means of childbirth. In Japan, men tend to believe that assisted reproductive technologies are not directly related to them, with the literature showing that men are often reluctant to be involved in fertility treatment processes. To better understand this situation, this study analyzes the role of male consent during assisted reproductive technology procedures in Japan. First, (...) we examined Japanese court cases that dealt with issues related to male consent during assisted reproductive technology procedures and identified three situations in which problems related to male consent during such procedures may arise. Next, we analyzed the background of such issues and the implications of the lack of consent regarding men’s reproductive rights. Finally, we explored the need for legislation on assisted reproductive technologies. The study concludes that discussions on the scope of male partner rights in assisted reproductive technology procedures are key for minimizing unnecessary conflict between partners, thus ensuring both the rights of women who wish to have children and the welfare of their children. (shrink)

Recent technological advances have accelerated the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the world. Public concerns over AI in ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) may have been enhanced, but their awareness has not been fully examined between countries and cultures. We created four scenarios regarding the use of AI: “voice,” “recruiting,” “face,” and “immigration,” and compared public concerns in Japan, the US, Germany, and the Republic of Korea (hereafter Korea). Additionally, public ELSI concerns in respect of AI were measured (...) using four items: ethics, tradition, law and social benefit. Respondents with AI knowledge tended to exhibit stronger concern about ELSI in various situations. In terms of law concerns, Japanese respondents displayed greater concerns. In contrast, the US, when compared Japan, expressed a relatively optimistic view of the current law landscape. Regarding social benefits, Korea, compared to Japan, exhibited a more positive outlook, whereas Germany, in comparison to Japan, expressed heightened concerns about it across different scenarios. (shrink)

Currently in Japan, discontinuing an invasive mechanical ventilator (IMV) is illegal; therefore IMV-related decision making is a crucial issue. This study examined IMV decision-making factors and psychological conflict in 50 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The Herth Hope Index was used for the assessment of pre- and post-IMV conflict. Interviews identified some decision-making factors: patient’s decision, patient’s and family’s mutual decision, family’s decision, and emergency-induced without patient’s or family’s consent. Participants who experienced no IMV-related regret received sufficient prior IMV education (...) from physicians and nurses, and time for reflection and family consultation. Their hope was similar to their pre-onset levels. Patients who received no prior IMV education accepted treatment as a natural progression. Their hope levels were lower than pre-onset. Those who received only a brief prior IMV explanation rejected the ventilator, experiencing regret if they were given an emergency IMV. Their hope levels were among the lowest. However, some of these patients managed to overcome their regret through being helped by nurses. Sufficient physician explanation and nursing advocacy for autonomous patient decision making are critical for improving hope in this patient group. (shrink)

In this essay I present the philosophy of Nishida Kitarō, the father of the Kyoto School tradition, as an alternative version of transcendental philosophy. While following the steps of Kant and Husserl in important ways, Nishida attempts to take the transcendental approach even further, finally leaving us with a different view of reality that is neither realist nor idealist, but, rather, radically realist. I call this radical transcendental position, “awakened realism”. Due to word limitations, I can only set the stage (...) for further discussion on what kind of implication this may have for transcendental philosophy. But if I succeed in making my presentation clear enough, it should naturally ignite discussion on how far we can radicalize transcendental philosophy without making it into something else. (shrink)

This proposal for Philosophy of Science Society Japan and its members presents recommendations toward improvement of logic education, outline of logic curriculum to be shared among community, and requisite components of logical skills and knowledge for philosophers of each field. It also provides information on the past workshops on logic education by PSSJ as well as a summary of ASL guideline and ASL inquiry on logic education (1995).

Iris Marion Young’s social connection model of responsibility faces one difficulty when dealing with a non-ideal case where actors, especially victims, lack what I call “capability for responsibility”. Without taking this problem into consideration, Young’s model could be criticized for blaming the victim for not taking their responsibility for political Justice. In this paper, I address this question by examining a case study taken from Japan where society is deeply structured in a mode that oppresses women. The first sections point (...) out that Young’s model overlooks the importance of agents for political justice while trying not to blame anyone. In the second sections I will introduce the idea of the “capability for responsibility” to connect the analytical part and the prescriptive part of her model as a theory of justice, arguing that actors’ engagement in self-examination through collective action is necessary for the enhancement of their capability for responsibility. (shrink)

Although chimpanzees have been reported to understand to some extent others' visual perception, previous studies using food requesting tasks are divided on whether or not chimpanzees understand the role of eye gaze. One plausible reason for this discrepancy may be the familiarity of the testing situation. Previous food requesting tasks with negative results used an unfamiliar situation that may be difficult for some chimpanzees to recognize as a requesting situation, whereas those with positive results used a familiar situation. The present (...) study tested chimpanzees' understanding of others' attentional states by comparing two requesting situations: an unfamiliar situation in which food was put on a table, and a familiar situation in which chimpanzees requested food held by an experimenter. Chimpanzees showed evidence of understanding the experimenter's attentional variations and the role of eye gaze only in the latter task. This suggests that an unfamiliar requesting situation may keep subjects from expressing their understanding of others' attentional states even though they are sensitive to them. Keywords: Understanding attention; Social cognition; Chimpanzees. (shrink)

Intercultural Phenomenology explores the nature of reality by engaging in a cross-cultural dialogue between two of the most influential philosophical traditions of the 20th century. Drawing on ideas from phenomenology, Japanese philosophy and Zen Buddhism, it follows the philosophers who changed their perception of the world by choosing to suspend judgement. Guided by this philosophical method known as the "epoché", or suspension of judgment in ancient Greek, it is an introduction to the philosophy and practice of letting objects in the (...) world speak for themselves. (shrink)

Dans cet article, Tanabe reprend une question kantienne : quelle place la liberté, entendue comme « volonté auto-législatrice », peut-elle avoir dans un monde régi par les lois nécessaires de la causalité? Tanabe rappelle, avec Kant, que, comme noumène, ayant une cause spontanée, la liberté est « théoriquement possible », mais soutient que pour qu’elle soit concrètement réalisée, est nécessaire un dépassement de toutes les « limitations individuelles » à travers l’unification du sujet moral agissant avec la « (...) valeur absolue » qu’est. (shrink)

This article introduces the first English translation of one of Tanabe’s early essays on metaphysics. It questions the relation of the universal to the particular in context of logic, phenomenology, Neo-Kantian epistemology, and classical metaphysics. Tanabe provides his reflections on the nature of the concept of universality and its constitutive relation to phenomenal particulars through critical analyses of the issue as it is discussed across various schools of philosophy including: British Empiricism, the Marburg School, the Austrian School, the (...) Kyoto School, and Platonism. In this essay, Tanabe reveals his ability to think metaphysically the ground for the possibility of reasoning and dares to voice his own thought beyond references to the most prominent thinkers of his time from distinct intellectual traditions in both the east and the west. This essay, therefore, demonstrates that his strong tendency to move beyond the received epistemology and phenomenology of the European intellectual tradition to metaphysics was already present in the early days of his academic life and thereby marks a more general contribution of the Kyoto School of Philosophy to distinct European schools of thought in the early twentieth century. (shrink)