Special issue of Open Philosophy dedicated to Professor Deguchi’s WE-turn published

In his contribution entitled “The WE-turn of Action: Principles,” Deguchi systematically outlines his proposal of the WE-turn of action, i.e. the reconceptualization of the subject of any somatic action as a multi-agent system to be called a WE rather than a self-subsistent I.

In the Introductory Remarks to the special issue, Raud welcomes this project of Deguchi as a fully-fledged attempt to challenge various versions of philosophical individualism, underscoring that Deguchi’s work resonates with many recent developments in Western thought while also drawing deeply on East Asian traditions. Raud’s own research article, “Yasuo Deguchi’s ‘WE-turn’: A Social Ontology for the Post-Anthropocentric World”, compares Deguchi’s view with Raimo Tuomela’s social ontology and with “panagentic” theories developed by Jane Bennett and Mercedes Valmisa, arguing that Deguchi’s framework could profit from a more explicitly processual ontology and an explicit temporal dimension.

The special issue also features a contribution from Professor Markus Gabriel (Senior Global Advisor, KIP). In “Cycling Conditions – Conditionalism About the Mind and Deguchi’s We-Turn,” Gabriel reads the WE-turn through conditionalism, treating actions as wholes of interconnected necessary conditions that are jointly sufficient. From this perspective, Gabriel poses questions regarding the I in the WE-turn. First, if agency is a multi-agent whole, by what method does the WE-turn individuate such wholes without positing further external “triggers” such as the self-subsistent I? Second, how far can Deguchi’s WE-Turn of cognition be extended across the full range of epistemic states — and, in particular, beyond a paradigm like human–computer symbiosis? While presenting these as challenges that the project’s further articulation must address, Gabriel sees in the WE-turn a promising path for reconceiving subjectivity beyond an isolated “I.”

Another contribution from KIP-affiliated members is by Mr. Jun Sawada (Co-chairperson, KIP) and Dr. Shunichi Takagi (Research Manager, KIP). In their co-authored article, “Incapability or Contradiction? Deguchi’s Self-as-We in Light of Nishida’s Absolutely Contradictory Self-Identity,” Sawada and Takagi offer a theoretical comparison of Deguchi’s Self-as-We with the system of “Absolutely Contradictory Self-Identity” by Nishida Kitarō, the founder of the Kyoto School. While both projects defend holistic, somatic and non-dualistic conceptions of self, Sawada and Takagi suggest that the two attempts are essentially distinct in their metaphilosophical character: Deguchi’s constructive, metaphysically parsimonious approach contrasts with Nishida’s foundational metaphysics, in which the dialetheic constitution of the self is dialectically unfolded. Seeing this, they suggest that revisiting Nishida’s engagement with the contradictory nature of the world could strengthen the axiological dimension of the WE-turn project.

Alongside Deguchi, Raud, Gabriel, Sawada and Takagi, the special issue features contributions that extend the WE-turn into a wide range of domains.

• Andrej Zwitter, “Meaning as Interbeing: A Treatment of the WE-turn and Meta-Science”
• Shigeru Taguchi, “The Logic of Non-Oppositional Selfhood: How to Remain Free from Dichotomies While Still Using Them”
• Hye Young Kim, “Topology of the We: Ur-Ich, Pre-Subjectivity, and Knot Structures”

• Yogi Hale Hendlin, “The WE-turn and the Ecology of Agency: Biosemiotic and Affordance-Theoretical Reflections”

• Takahiro Nakajima, “Listening to the Daoing in the Morning”
• Martin E. Rosenberg, “The ‘WE-turn’ in Jazz and Cognition: From What It Is, to How It Happens”

Together, these contributions respond to Deguchi’s philosophical system from diverse perspectives – social ontology, logic, comparative philosophy, meta-science, environmental thought, aesthetics and cognitive science – and show how the WE-turn can be developed and challenged across different fields. The volume demonstrates how ideas developed in Kyoto and beyond can enrich ongoing conversations on social ontology, environmental philosophy, AI, and the philosophy of mind.

The Kyoto Institute of Philosophy is honoured to have supported this special issue. The complete issue of Open Philosophy is available open access from the publisher.