Complex Thinking for Kansei Studies - For an epistemological shift of the field

This position paper questions the current situation of kansei studies as a multidisciplinary field of research. The observations on the structure of the research community and on the way papers address the notion of kansei point out the pluridisciplinary nature of the field, centred on the ill-defined notion of kansei. This situation is thought to be an epistemological issue, rather than a structural one. To address this epistemological challenge, we argue to shift towards complex thinking as a paradigm to rethink the field of kansei studies and the notion of kansei. Positioning kansei studies as a complex unit rich of multiple disciplines and of multiple perspectives on kansei lead to a richer dynamic within the research community, and open new ways of collaboration within the community and outside with related disciplines. Therefore, we call for this shift that may impulse a new dynamic in the community actually rich of a great variety of disciplines and practices.