The day when an advertiser is summoned to communicate with aliens.

Namikawa: Today we talked about the philosopher Emmanuel Levinas, right?

Nora: Exactly, exactly. Emmanuel Levinas was a German Jewish philosopher active after World War II. Just before Levinas came along, Germany had this famous philosopher named Heidegger.

Heidegger's idea of justice was this: "Justice is when, say, a team of 100 people all believe they are right—that is justice for that team. Or a nation of 10,000 people all believe they are right—that is justice for that nation." Before World War II, this was a fairly common way of thinking globally.

However, this idea reached a dead end with the Nazi German Holocaust against the Jews. Many German citizens at the time—though certainly not all—came to believe the persecution of Jews was right, and that's how this tragedy occurred.

Even if everyone in a country believes something is right, it might still be wrong. That's where Levinas comes in.

Namikawa: I see.

Norabukuro: Levinas's idea is this.

For example, imagine a country of 10,000 people. When something "unfathomable" appears in that country, they should still accept it "without understanding it." That, he says, is true justice.

Namikawa: Levinas is cool.

Norabukuro: But the depth of Levinas lies even further beyond that.

He doesn't say we accept the "unfathomable" because it brings peace. Rather, he says humans are fundamentally made to feel future and possibility in their own "unfathomable" aspects – there's a thirst for the "unfathomable."

Namikawa: That's deep.

...But this feeling of trying to accept the "unfathomable"—it might be close to an advertiser's mindset.

Norabukuro: Exactly.

Following Levinas's thinking, when aliens come to Earth, instead of excluding these beings we can't understand, we should first accept the existence of aliens.

Namikawa: Indeed, for humans who can never become beings beyond themselves, aliens might represent hope.

Norabukuro: Exactly, that kind of thinking is very advertising-like.

When aliens visit Earth, wouldn't the flustered government end up calling in an advertiser?

Namikawa: Well, if you say they're seen as a jack-of-all-trades, then that's that.

Noraibukuro: The crucial point is being conscious of it.

The problem now is that we're not self-aware. If we're not, then we're just opportunists, plain and simple. I think advertisers should boldly assert a Levinasian sense of justice. That's what I think.

Namikawa: Is that what you call "fluffy-fluffyism"?

Norabukuro: For example, like...