「生物学の哲学」では、既存の人文系、哲学系という枠を超えて議論が繰り広げられている。本書は、日本における「生物学の哲学」の中心的研究者たち9人が、進化論を軸に、科学哲学、生物学、システム理論、数学、物 理学、心理学、人類学、歴史学、倫理学など様々な分野と接点を持って、バラエティある話題を展開する。原理的な問題から個別的な問題へと読者を誘う1冊。.

We propose a novel probabilistic image selection method for the Web image gathering system we proposed before. It employed two-step processing: (1) Gather HTML files of Web pages related to given keywords, analyze them and fetch only Web images expected to be highly related to the keywords. (2) Select only relevant images from the gathered images based on the image-feature-based clustering. In this paper, we propose building a generative model based on the Gaussian mixture model to represent the distribution of (...) image features of images related to the given keywords, and applying it to select images instead of the processing (2). We call the new system ``Probabilistic Image Collector''. We show the effectiveness of our proposed system by the experimental results. (shrink)

These volumes present the text of Abū Ma’͑šar’s _Great Introduction to Astrology_ in Arabic and Greek and the divergences in the Latin translations. It provides a fully-comprehensive account of traditional astrological doctrine and its philosophical bases.

20世紀論理哲学の扉を開いたウィトゲンシュタインは,また神と宗教をめぐって生涯つきつめた思索を続けた。豊富な資料や証言を織り込み現代の謎ともいうべき哲学者の生に迫る,俊英の書下し。.

The origins of Japan's medical ideas, which are deeply rooted in its religion, culture and history, are not widely understood in medical societies of other countries. We have taken up the task of summarising this tradition here so that some insight can be gained into the unique issues that characterise the practice of medicine in Japan. We borrow from the sayings of Tohkaku Wada, a medical philosopher of late eighteenth-century Japan, for a look at Japanese medical tradition. Wada's medical thought (...) was very much reflective of the Buddhism, Zen, and swordsmanship that informed eighteenth-century philosophy in Japan. His central concepts were “chu” and “sei”, that is, complete and selfless dedication to the patient and the practice of medicine. This paper explores Wada's thought, explaining it mainly from the standpoint of Japanese traditional culture. (shrink)

In _Religion and Nothingness_ the leading representative of the Kyoto School of Philosophy lays the foundation of thought for a world in the making, for a world united beyond the differences of East and West. Keiji Nishitani notes the irreversible trend of Western civilization to nihilism, and singles out the conquest of nihilism as _the_ task for contemporary philosophy. Nihility, or relative nothingness, can only be overcome by being radicalized to Emptiness, or absolute nothingness. Taking absolute nothingness as the (...) fundamental notion in rational explanations of the Eastern experience of human life, Professor Nishitani examines the relevance of this notion for contemporary life, and in particular for Western philosophical theories and religious believes. Everywhere his basic intention remains the same: to direct our modern predicament to a resolution through this insight. The challenge that the thought of Keiji Nishitani presents to the West, as a modern version of an Eastern speculative tradition that is every bit as old and as variegated as our own, is one that brings into unity the principle of reality and the principle of salvation. In the process, one traditional Western idea after another comes under scrutiny: the dichotomy of faith and reason, of being and substance, the personal and transcendent notions of God, the exaggerated role given to the knowing ego, and even the Judeo-Christian view of history itself. _Religion and Nothingness_ represents the major work of one of Japan's most powerful and committed philosophical minds. (shrink)

Although we have learned much about the neuropsychological control of facial expressions of emotion, there is still much work to do. We suggest that future work integrate advances in our theoretical understanding of the roles of volition and consciousness in the elicitation of emotion and the production of facial expressions with advances in our understanding of its underlying neurophysiology. We first review the facial musculature and the neural paths thought to innervate it, as well as previous attempts at understanding the (...) neural control of facial expressions of emotion, focusing on the voluntary-involuntary dichotomy and studies of hemispheric specialization. In the second section, we discuss four major aspects of the psychology of facial expressions of emotion that have particular import to their neurophysiological substrates. We offer these as a starting point for a better integration of psychological and neurophysiological perspectives in considering the neuropsychological control of facial expressions of emotion. (shrink)

In this paper, I discuss the problems of ``order in social situations'' using a computer simulation of iterated N -person prisoners' dilemma game. It has been claimed that, in the case of the 2 -person prisoners' dilemma, repetition of games and the reciprocal use of the ``tit-for-tat'' strategy promote the possibility of cooperation. However, in cases of N -person prisoners' dilemma where N is greater than 2, the logic does not work effectively. The most essential problem is so called ``sanctioning (...) problems''. In this paper, firstly, I discuss the ``sanctioning problems'' which were introduced by Axelrod and Keohane in 1986. Based on the model formalized by Axelrod, I propose a new model, in which I added a mechanism of players' payoff changes in the Axelrod's model. I call this mechanism norm-internalization and call our model `` norm-internalization game ''. Second, by using the model, I investigated the relationship between agents' norm-internalization (payoff-alternation) and the possibilities of cooperation. The results of computer simulation indicated that unequal distribution of cooperating norm and uniform distribution of sanctioning norm are more effective in establishing cooperation. I discuss the mathematical features and the implications of the results on social science. (shrink)

Human beings express affinity (Shinwa‐kan in Japanese language) in communicating transactive engagements among healthcare providers, patients and healthcare robots. The appearance of healthcare robots and their language capabilities often feature characteristic and appropriate compassionate dialogical functions in human–robot interactions. Elements of healthcare robot configurations comprising its physiognomy and communication properties are founded on the positivist philosophical perspective of being the summation of composite parts, thereby mimicking human persons. This article reviews Mori's theory of the Uncanny Valley and its consequent debates, (...) and examines "Uncanny" relations with generating healthcare robot conversational content with artificial affective communication (AAC) using natural language processing. With healthcare robots provoking influential physical composition and sensory expressions, the relations in human–healthcare robot transactive engagements are argued as supportive of the design and development in natural language processing. This implies that maintaining human–healthcare robot interaction and assessing the eeriness situations explained in the Uncanny Valley theory are crucial positions for healthcare robot functioning as a valuable commodity in health care. As such, physical features, language capabilities and mobility of healthcare robots establish the primacy of the AAC with natural language processing as integral to healthcare robot–human healthcare practice. (shrink)

BackgroundEmotional regulation is important for adolescents’ adaptive development. Preventive interventions for anxiety and depression are necessary for reducing the development of disorders later in life, and emotional regulation is a potentially relevant factor.ObjectiveWe investigated the effects of a mindfulness-based psychological education and prevention program [the Mindfulness and Awareness Program ] on the mental health of junior high school students in Japan.MethodsOur MAP primarily focused on mindfulness meditation to improve emotional regulation, thereby reducing depression and anxiety. The MAP comprised eight sessions (...) administered by a school counselor in a school setting. All participants were 12–13-year-old adolescents from nine classes in two Japanese schools. The program was provided to the intervention group, wherein students were educated on emotional expression, emotional cognition, and emotional regulation. The control group received regular school counseling services.ResultsCompared with the control group, the intervention group showed significant improvement in emotional regulation and a decrease in depression and generalized anxiety. The effect was greater at the follow-up assessment than at the immediate post-intervention assessment, and greater in female students.ConclusionOur mental health prevention program exhibited efficacy in reducing depression and anxiety and enhancing emotional regulation in early adolescence. Further, it appeared to be more effective for female adolescents. (shrink)

To preserve postoperative brain function, it is important for neurosurgeons to fully understand the brain's structure, vasculature, and function. Intraoperative high-frequency electrical stimulation during awake craniotomy is the gold standard for mapping the function of the cortices and white matter; however, this method can only map the “focal” functions and cannot monitor large-scale cortical networks in real-time. Recently, an in vivo electrophysiological method using cortico-cortical evoked potentials induced by single-pulse electrical cortical stimulation has been developed in an extraoperative setting. By (...) using the CCEP connectivity pattern intraoperatively, mapping and real-time monitoring of the dorsal language pathway is available. This intraoperative CCEP method also allows for mapping of the frontal aslant tract, another language pathway, and detection of connectivity between the primary and supplementary motor areas in the frontal lobe network. Intraoperative CCEP mapping has also demonstrated connectivity between the frontal and temporal lobes, likely via the ventral language pathway. Establishing intraoperative electrophysiological monitoring is clinically useful for preserving brain function, even under general anesthesia. This CCEP technique demonstrates potential clinical applications for mapping and monitoring large-scale cortical networks. (shrink)