Volume 52, Issue 8, July 2020, Page 836-837.

Nearly all philosophers refer to Kant when debating the concept of dignity, and many approve of Kant’s conception, unaware of the tensions between Kant’s conception and the modern idea of dignity intimately connected to the idea of human rights. What exactly is Kant's conception of dignity? Is there a connecting tie between dignity and the legal sphere of human rights at all? Does Kant’s concept refer to a superior status human beings seem to own in comparison to non-rational beings? Or (...) does it refer to an absolute value? The contributions of this volume are organised in five broader topics. In the first section tensions within the Kantian conception of dignity are discussed (C. Horn, D. Birnbacher, G. Schönrich). The second group of articles illuminates the intimate connections between dignity and human rights (R. Mosayebi, M. Kettner). The third group discusses the prevailing moral conception of dignity (S. Yamatsuta, S. Shell, O. Sensen). The fourth group focuses on the relation of dignity and end in itself (T. Hill, D. Sturma, A. Wood). The central theme of the fifth group of contributions are the social, political, and cultural dimensions of dignity (Y. Kato, K. Ameriks, K. Flikschuh, T. Saito). (shrink)

It has often been assumed that Plato's Apology is a faithful recreation of Socrates' speech on the final day of his trial in 399 b.c.; that it contains almost nothing of Plato's own philosophy; and that it therefore represents rather the position of the historical Socrates on how to live and how to philosophize. In this belief, Schleiermacher relegated the Apology to an appendix to his translation of Plato, along with some spurious works. His view was followed by Zeller and (...) Grote in the late nineteenth century, and further popularized in the 1920s by Burnet's edition of the Apology. (shrink)

This paper will focus on bicorporates, the enigmatic composite animals with one head and two bodies which have been left rather outside of scholastic attention. The first known bicorporates appeared on Mesopotamian cylinder seals around the third millennium BCE. They subsequently appeared in Minoan, Greek, Etruscan and Roman art. In mediaeval Europe, they flourished in Romanesque churches, especially, Southern Europe and Scandinavia. Furthermore, they also emerged in India and Southeast Asia and China. Bicorporates exist across a remarkably wide geographical and (...) chronological range. Even though a small number of scholars carried out some research on them, most of their focus was trying to trace the migration route of the images. No previous study had focused on answering the most intriguing question, how these enigmatic images came about and the reason why they spread and recurred beyond geographical and chronological borders. Therefore, this paper will focus on the questions and seek to provide the answers, by applying neuropsychological reading and analytical psychology. The findings of this study suggest that Lewis‐Williams' neuropsychology and Jung's analytical psychology are intertwined and both offer explanations for the origin and widespread occurrence of bicorporate images. However, the contrast between these two theories lies in the fact that Lewis‐Williams' theory relies on the perspective of materialistic science, implying that these images are solely products of the human brain and nervous system. In contrast, Jung's theory allows for the possibility of exploring the invisible or esoteric realm, which cannot be disproven or proven by current materialistic science. (shrink)

Context Autopsy is a useful tool for understanding the cause and manner of unexpected patient death. However, the attitudes of the general public and physicians in Japan about clinical autopsy are limited. Objective To describe the beliefs of the general public about whether autopsy should be performed and ascertain if they would actually request one given specific clinical situations where patient death occurred with the additional variable of medical error. To compare these attitudes with previously obtained attitudes of physicians practising (...) at Japanese teaching hospitals. Design, setting and participants We conducted a cross-sectional study of the general public. We sent standardised questionnaires in 2010 to a randomly selected non-physician adult population using a survey company for participant selection. Respondents gave their opinions about the necessity of autopsy and how they might act given various clinical scenarios of patient death. We compared these results with those of a previous survey of Japanese physicians conducted in 2009. Results Of the 2300 eligible general adult population, 1575 (68.5%) responded. The majority of the general public indicated they believed an autopsy was necessary. However, in cases of unclear medical error or unclear cause and effect relationship of medical care and patient death, the general public were much less likely to indicate they would actually request an autopsy than were physicians (p<0.0001). Currently in Japan the debate about the role autopsy should play in the case of error related to death is underway. The results from this study will be important in informing related decisions. (shrink)

We examine the possible role played by field angular momentum in two systems of vastly different sizes: (i) the nucleon and (ii) highly magnetic white dwarf stars. For the nucleon we study the restrictions on the nucleon's structure that arise from the requirement that the total field angular (spin, orbital and field angular momentum) should satisfy the standard angular momentum commutation relationship. For the magnetic white dwarfs we argue that the magnetic field may alter the statistics of some fraction of (...) the white dwarf's electrons from fermionic to bosonic. This would effect the stars structure, giving it a smaller than expected radius, and a lower than expected temperature. In some extreme cases one could imagine that this effect could lead to the collapse of the white dwarf into a neutron star despite being below the Chandreshekar limit. (shrink)

This article aims to elucidate the educational significance of the traditional communitarian theories of the East and the West. For this purpose, it will set out to compare the moral and educationa...

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)

We argue that there are three basic views of paideia in ancient Greece. After briefly discussing them, we turn our attention to the contemporary situation. We try to show that the dialogical or Socratic view of paideia can contribute toward a deeper understanding of the contemporary problem of multiculturalism.

Rhodopsins are one of the most studied photoreceptor protein families, and ion‐translocating rhodopsins, both pumps and channels, have recently attracted broad attention because of the development of optogenetics. Recently, a new functional class of ion‐pumping rhodopsins, an outward Na+ pump, was discovered, and following structural and functional studies enable us to compare three functionally different ion‐pumping rhodopsins: outward proton pump, inward Cl− pump, and outward Na+ pump. Here, we review the current knowledge on structure‐function relationships in these three light‐driven pumps, (...) mainly focusing on Na+ pumps. A structural and functional comparison reveals both unique and conserved features of these ion pumps, and enhances our understanding about how the structurally similar microbial rhodopsins acquired such diverse functions. We also discuss some unresolved questions and future perspectives in research of ion‐pumping rhodopsins, including optogenetics application and engineering of novel rhodopsins. (shrink)

Although modern civilization has brought about great technical achievement, mankind face various problems today. It seems that humans are endlessly pursuing economic development, and they often neglect the preservation of the environment. Japan is not free from this world-wide problem. However, Japanese civilization would be able to offer an important paradigm for the future course of mankind. In particular, animism and tolerance towards religious differences seem to be vital elements for the betterment of this world.

Coping flexibility, as defined by the dual-process theory, refers to one’s ability to relinquish a coping strategy recognized as ineffective—abandonment—and to devise and implement an alternative and more effective strategy—re-coping. The coping flexibility hypothesis dictates that richer coping flexibility produces more adaptive outcomes caused by stress responses, such as reduced psychological and physical dysfunction. We tested the reliability and validity of the Coping Flexibility Scale-Revised and the CFH using the CFS-R, which was developed to measure coping flexibility. In total, we (...) performed three studies involving 6,752 participants. Study 1 provided the psychometric properties of the CFS-R and tested this factorial structure by a confirmatory factor analysis. Study 2 estimated the validity of the CFS-R by examining the associations between its three subscales and variables that were conceptually similar to them. Study 3 tested the CFH using a longitudinal design after controlling for the effects of typical coping strategies and other types of coping flexibility. Overall, the CFH was supported by the use of the CFS-R, and the findings in Studies 2 and 3 showed that it had acceptable validity and reliability. Our findings implied that abandonment and re-coping can predict reduced depressive symptoms more than other types of theoretical framings for coping flexibility. Additionally, a meta-analysis of the Cronbach’s alphas for all samples in this study showed that they were 0.87 for abandonment, 0.92 for re-coping, and 0.86 for meta-coping. (shrink)

Background Advance care planning (ACP) is a process in which adults engage in an ongoing dialogue about future medical treatment and care. Though ACP is recommended to improve the quality of end-of-life care, the details of the dialogue experience in ACP are unknown. Objective To explore participants’ experiences of dialogue in an ACP educational program that encouraged them to discuss the value of a way of life. Research design This qualitative descriptive study used the focus group interview method. Data were (...) analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Participants and research context A dialogue-based ACP educational program was conducted in four regions in Japan for local citizens to discuss the value of their way of life. A total of 66 individuals (mean age = 55.5 ± 17.2 years; 50 women and 16 men) participated in focus group interviews. Ethical considerations This study was approved by the Ethical Review Committee of Tokyo Women’s Medical University (no. 4723) and Kyoto University (no. R2099). Findings Five main themes were extracted: discussing one’s thoughts with others in a considerate manner, reflecting on one’s way of life through others, feeling a sense of connection with others through storytelling, realizing the difficulties of talking about “what if” topics, and turning one’s eyes toward the future through the dialogue. These themes were interrelated and illustrated the complexity of the experience of discussing values. Conclusions The results suggest that dialogue in ACP is useful in clarifying values. They also indicated the need for dealing with the ethical challenges of discussing value and the importance of caring for the interlocutor to have a safe dialogue. In the ACP process, safety in dialogue may improve readiness in ACP, and health practitioners who support ACP need to address the ethical challenges entailing dialogue about values. (shrink)

In Plato's "Hippias Major" 292e6-7, we can find a self-predication sentence; "The fine is always fine." (We have similar expressions in "Protagoras" 330c4-6, 330d8-el, "Lysis" 220b6-7.) How should we interpret this sentence? We cannot give it any metaphysical meaning drawn from Plato's own theory of Form, which is explicit in his middle dialogues. "The fine" here should be the logical cause, not the one of the metaphysical essentials (cf. Paul Woodruff's "Plateo Hippias Major", p. 150). So taking a sentence like (...) "parthenos kale kalon" (287e4), we can safely paraphrase it in Woodruff's manner: "a fine girl is a fine thing." This can avoid reading the metaphysical meaning into the text. And I would like to make a new proposal for reading of 292e6-7: "the fine thing is what is to be called fine." This is to emphasize the unique character of the self-predication sentences in the early dialogues. In the Socratic way of discourse, Socrates and his partner get involved into "trial and error" during their pursuit of the knowledge. What they can do then is to give their opinions which seem to them true (so-called alethes doxa", cf. "Meno" 85c), and to get close examinations of them. And in this way they are getting closer to the knowledge. My interpretation well describes these activities. (shrink)

The aim of this presentation is to show that philosophy of education must seriously engage itself with horizons of education. After a brief explanation of the term “horizon”, the horizon of modern pedagogy, which was inaugurated by Pestalozzi and Herbart, is examined. Modern pedagogy with its special emphasis on method unravels itself as one of the major streams of modern epistemology, for which inspection of inner ideas is crucial. The modern epistemology, on the other hand, presupposes the atomistic self represented (...) by the Lockian dark room. This is the horizon of modern pedagogy. One of the deficiencies of this horizon is that it is not capable of articulating the educational aim on its own terms. Thus, dealing with the aim of education, modern pedagogy was obliged to use terms such as God or Nature, the terms, of which philosophical origin goes back to the Cave metaphor of Plato. This takes us to the second part of the presentation: the examination of the Cave metaphor in order to unravel the horizon of the classical education, paideia. The comparison of the two horizons will show the importance of horizon, about which philosophy of education must be sensitive. (shrink)

The psychological gap based on distrust and mutual ignorance between the Islamic world and the rest of the world, including Japan, has never been wider than it is today. Some might think that Islamic and other civilizations share little common ground in terms of basic values concerning humanity. Some even claim that “the clash of civilizations” is inevitable. However, it is too early to conclude that these civilizations will always be in conflict with each other. Although their theological interpretations of (...) God and the teachings of their religions show clear contrasts, there might be some common values that they can share in social life. One of the most prestigious and well-known Islamic boarding schools or Pesantren in Indonesia, Al-Mukumin of Solo in Central Java, offers fundamentalist education. Yet, the students in this school still learn about the importance of co-existence with non-Muslims through social activities and classroom instructions. Multiculturalism and the appreciation of non-Muslims are clearly emphasised in the curriculum. Based on the field research conducted in January 2013, I will attempt to picture the state of Islamic education in Indonesia and identify some values common to Islamic and other civilizations, such as Western and Japanese. (shrink)

Chomin Nakae (Japanese thinker,1847-1901) has been called “the Rousseau of the East” by both Japanese and Chinese because he translated Jean-Jacque Rousseau, for instance, the Social Contract into Japanese and Chinese. It would be natural to suppose that Chomin read Rousseau’s books as an overseas student in France from 1872 to 1874 after the time of “ the Paris Commune”. It seems that many Chinese overseas students in Japan read Rousseau’s books in Chinese and Japanese translated by Chomin and accepted (...) democratic and revolutionary thoughts originally born in the West and brought them home. Adding to the fact, it is insisted that the substance of Chomin’s thought is rather Confucian-biased democracy to be governed morally by both people and the sovereign than pure popular supremacy, which was gotten through examining the results of the recent research. (shrink)

Die Platonische Techne-Analogie hat eine heuristische Funktion. In ihr wird eine bestimmte (vom Verfasser «technisch» genannte) Denkweise sichtbar, die in der platonischen Philosophie durchgehend einflussreich bleibt. Die vorliegende Untersuchung besteht aus zwei Teilen. Der erste Teil analysiert die vielfältigen Strukturen der platonischen Techne-Analogie und bringt die in ihnen wirkende «technische» Denkweise zum Licht. Der zweite Teil behandelt den Einfluss dieser Denkweise auf verschiedene Bereiche der platonischen Philosophie.

The term ‘humanism’ is Western in origin. It denotes the tradition that places special emphasis on cultivation of letters for education. In the West, this tradition was originated with sophists and Isocrates, established by Cicero, and was developed by Renaissance humanists. East Asia, however, also has its own humanistic traditions with equal educational relevance. One of these is a Japanese version of Confucian humanism established by Ogyu Sorai (1666–1728). This tradition is based on the interpretation of Confucius as a lover (...) of poetry and a teacher of rites. In this article, we discuss the main features of East Asian humanism represented by Sorai and Confucius. Then, after an overview of Western humanism, we aim to elucidate both the convergence and divergence of the two traditions. The investigation will help us (hopefully) to envision humanistic education of the twenty-first century. (shrink)

Traces of thoughts. The place of a theology of the Septuagint in biblical scholarship: In the past decades, research has raised the idea of a theology of the Septuagint (LXX) on various occasions. Important works were recently published on this topic in the Handbuch zur Septuaginta and the Septuagint and Cognate Studies series. The general theological tendencies of the LXX are identified by scholars in eschatology, messianism, anti-anthropomorphism and angelology. These tend to all be regarded as further developments of the (...) theology of the Hebrew Bible (HB). However, one can trace the evolution of these and other main topics of the LXX in the New Testament (NT) and in the later apostolic writings as well. Based on three concise case studies, I point out the evolution of theological ideas from the HB through the LXX up to the NT in this paper. First, I will discuss the importance of the ‘Name of God’-theology which is increasingly present in the LXX and has a key role in the messianic passages of the NT. Then in two points it will be argued that addressing Jesus as κύριος implies theological accents which can be detected in the LXX. These observations aim to show that the development of the religious ideologies of the HB can be followed not only in the LXX but in the NT and beyond as well. The importance of a theology of the LXX goes beyond the HB research, having significant implications for the NT as well. In fact, such theology could build the bridge between the HB and the NT, and should not only be written from the viewpoint of the HB but also considering the NT. Contribution: This contribution traces the routes of three theological concepts originating in the Hebrew Bible developed further in the LXX and finally adopted by the New Testament. Based on these three examples, it is suggested here as a novel idea that a theology of the LXX should not be written only with the Hebrew Bible in mind but also considering the New Testament. (shrink)

This paper explores the perceptual space of Thomas A. Clark’s poetry and its links with the long and influential Western literary and artistic traditions of walking in the landscape, from Romanticism to Land Art. Particular attention will be given to the relations that Clark establishes in his writing between walking as a bodily practice and the multi-sensory engagement with the landscape it provides. It will be shown that Clark’s most significant contribution to the literature of walking lies in the balance (...) he creates between movement and stillness. In this dynamics, walking is envisaged as means of contemplation and communion to be found within the body, but which is at the same time directed towards the world, and the landscape appears as an infinite variety of perspectival views and as a dynamic process of discovery. (shrink)

Kyosei, a traditional Japanese concept, has been applied to a variety subjects, from biology to business. It has more recently become synonymous with the concepts of corporate responsibility, ethical decision making, stakeholder maximization, and responsible reciprocity. The purpose of this paper is to trace kyosei's modern business application back to ancient Confucian thought. The ideals associated with Confucianism were instrumental in the creation of Japanese business codes of ethics during the early part of the seventeenth century. A short history of (...) this period is presented to provide a contextual framework for understanding these codes. A specific code of ethics, called the shuchu kiyaku, is presented for the first time in English and shown to have direct roots in Confucian writings. Statements from modern company codes and from modern Japanese and American businessmen are presented to reflect the philosophy of business embodied in that ancient code of ethics. (shrink)