If the 20th century was the “century of science, technology, and economy,” then the 21st century is the “century of values.”
Today, it is evident that the advancement of science, technology, as well as economic prosperity, does not necessarily lead to people’s well-being or world peace. We are grappling with questions such as: “What is genuine happiness?” and “What values should we aim for?”
In the face of an increasingly pluralistic world, we recognize that there can be no single correct answer to these questions about values.
Moreover, it has been revealed that the concepts of individual identity and social uniformity are nothing but myths. There is a pressing demand for the establishment of a society with multiple layers of values, where these values accumulate.
The whole situation suggests an urgent need for reinvigorating philosophy as a discipline of proposing values, and hence, humanities that actively engage in society, or “engaging humanities.”
This new philosophy and humanities will not only focus on West European and North American thought, which became the de facto standard in the 20th century. By shedding light on the traditions that thrive in various regions of the world such as Asia, Africa, Latin America, Oceania, and others, we aim to rearticulate them as worldviews with equal authenticity and thereby undertake the mission of fostering the “contradictory coexistence” of diverse values. The Kyoto Institute of Philosophy was established with the participation of a diverse group of people from industry, government, academia, and the public, both domestically and internationally, with the objective to form a global movement towards the realization of a Multilayered Society of Values by proposing diverse values from the historic and cultural city of Kyoto.
Realizing a "Multilayered Society of Values"
Strive to establish a society where individuals worldwide respect, coexist, and collaborate across diverse value systems.
Propose new values that ensure the advancement of science, technology, and the economy aligns with the enhancement of well-being and the promotion of global peace.
Contribute to societal transformation by addressing fundamental questions such as "What are the values we should aspire to?" and "What constitutes true happiness?"
| Name | Kyoto Institute of Philosophy | |
|---|---|---|
| Co-chairpersons | Yasuo Deguchi | Dean and Professor of Philosophy at Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University |
| Jun Sawada | Executive Chairman, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation | |
| Directors | Hirokazu Toda | Director & Chairman, Hakuhodo Inc. |
| Toshiaki Higashihara | Executive Chairman, Hitachi, Ltd. | |
| Toshikazu Yamaguchi | Representative Director President, The Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings | |
| Kumiko Oomori | Vice President of R&D Marketing Group, Marketing Department, R&D Market Strategy Division, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, Ph.D. | |
| Senior Global Advisor | Markus Gabriel | Professor and Chair in Epistemology, Modern, and Contemporary Philosophy, Director of International Centre for Philosophy, Director of Center for Science and Thought, University of Bonn |
| Executive Advisor / Chief Strategist |
Masaki Nomura | MPA (Harvard University) MPhil (Kyoto University) Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Yamauchi No.10 Family Office |
| Founding Benefactor | Ping & Robert Thomson Family | |
Philosophy is a discipline that proposes values. To whom? Of course, to people and society above all else. In order to give voice to people and society, philosophy must once again confront and engage with society.
At the same time, the world of the 21st century desperately needs a more pluralistic and multilayered approach to values. The Kyoto Institute of Philosophy was established as a milieu where these two trajectories meet, a “place” that links philosophy and society, and in dialogue between the two creates new views of humans and the world.
It is our mission and hope that the Kyoto Institute of Philosophy can be a forum where researchers and other people from around the world gather to discuss and exchange their ideas, create new social values and philosophical trends, and disseminate ideas originating from this culturally iconic city to the world.
Professor of Philosophy and Dean of the Graduate School of Letters, and Vice Director of the Institute for the Future of Human and Society at Kyoto University. He completed his doctoral studies at the Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University, earning a Ph.D. in Letters. He joined the Philosophy Department at Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Letters in 2002. His research areas include analytical Asian philosophy and philosophy of mathematical science. He is currently advocating a new value system called “WE Turn.” His recent works include AI Best Friend (Tokuma Shoten), What Can’t Be Said: Paradox and Contradiction in East Asian Thought (Oxford UP), and Moon Points Back (Oxford UP).
In the summer of 2019,
I visited Professor Deguchi at Kyoto University to discuss the new information and communication infrastructure (IOWN: Innovative Optical and Wireless Network). His suggestion provided a clear insight: “A new social infrastructure needs a new philosophy.”.
In the present world, the advent of generative AI and new information communication infrastructures is presenting us with a high possibility of drastic change in society and people’s lives.
Furthermore, events like the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have put global security in an ever more challenging phase. The world today appears in various forms of division such as the Cold War structure and the North-South divide.
A constructive response to these situations, I believe, demands us to adopt a paraconsistent standpoint which embraces the coexistence of diverse values and thereby to bring about a new philosophy for the simultaneous flourishing of Western and Eastern values.
From Kyoto, we propose to create a Multilayered Society of Values. It is our aspiration to shape a hopeful future by orienting the fruits of technological innovation towards a richer society. Establishing the Kyoto Institute of Philosophy is the first step in this endeavor.
Chairman and Member of the Board, and former President and Chief Executive Officer of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation. During his presidency, he pursued drastic reforms, including the announcement of the next-generation information and communication infrastructure concept “IOWN,” the reorganization of the NTT group, and the promotion of partnerships both domestically and internationally. He is also known for his deep appreciation of philosophy. In his book Paraconsistent World (NTT Publishing), he proposes a vision of the future from the perspectives of philosophy, life sciences, and information sciences. He also serves as the Chairman of the Japan-U.S. Business Council, a Vice Chair of the Japan Business Federation and a Visiting Professor of Ritsumeikan University Business School. In June 2024, he was awarded Honorary Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his contributions to UK/Japan trade and investment and to UK/Japan relations. He graduated from the Department of Civil Engineering, Kyoto University.
Due to the accelerated and rapid rise of Generative AI and other novel applications of digital technologies, humanity is facing a value crisis. We live in hypercomplex times. This requires a new public philosophy which cooperates across sectors and disciplines. The goal is to develop a new vision of goodness that allows us to live well in the age of AI. KIP realizes this imperative by bringing philosophy, business, and other sectors together to reshape our digital infrastructure in light of the challenges we are facing. It is an immense pleasure and honor for me to be joining this high-level, future-oriented new institute as Senior Global Advisor.
Markus Gabriel (born 1980) studied in Bonn, Heidelberg, Lisbon, and New York.
He is one of the world’s most prominent representatives of New Realism in philosophy.
At just 29, he became the youngest full professor of philosophy in Germany, having already served as a tenure-track professor at New York’s New School for Social Research since 2008.
Since 2009, he has held the Chair in Epistemology, Modern and Contemporary Philosophy at the University of Bonn. He has served as Director of the International Center for Philosophy since 2012.
In 2017, he founded the Center for Science and Thought together with colleagues from physics. This center facilitates interdisciplinary exchange between philosophy, science, and technology in order to find productive and sustainable solutions to the most pressing questions of our time. In this context, he is Principle Investigator of a project on Desirable Digitalization, which provides a new framework for thinking about AI.
His best-selling books include Why the World Doesn’t Exist (Kodansha), I Am Not a Brain: Philosophy of Mind for the 21st Century (Kodansha), The Meaning of Thought (Polity), and Moral Progress in Dark Times. Universal Values for the 21st Century (Polity).
Formation of a Global Movement for the Realization of a Multilayered Society of Values
Building a worldwide network aimed at forming a global movement
Regularly holding the “Kyoto Conference,” where diverse people from all over the world gather to discuss ways to realize a Multilayered Society of Values
Value Proposals for a New Social Infrastructure
Philosophical research oriented towards new value proposals
Joint research between philosophy as the discipline of proposing values and adjacent disciplines in humanities, social sciences, and fields such as science, engineering, and medicine, etc.
Social Implementation of New Values
Value co-creation activities with industry, government, academia, the public, and the art and design community, etc.
Various projects aiming at the social dissemination of new values.