Moral appraisals are found to be associated with a person’s individual differences (e.g., political ideology), and the effects of individual differences on language use have been studied within the framework of the Moral Foundations Theory (MFT). However, the relationship between one’s moral concern and the use of language involving morality on social media is not self-evident. The present exploratory study investigated that relationship using the MFT. Participants’ tweets and self-reported responses to the questionnaire were collected to measure the degree of (...) their appraisals according to the five foundations of the MFT. The Japanese version of the Moral Foundations Dictionary (J-MFD) was used to quantify the number of words in tweets relevant to the MFT’s five moral foundations. The results showed that endorsement of the Fairness and Authority foundations predicted the word frequency in the J-MFD across all five foundations. The findings suggest that the trade-off relationship between the Fairness and Authority foundations plays a key role in online language communication. The implications and future directions to scrutinize that foundation are discussed. (shrink)

Shweder et al. (1997) proposed the three domains of morality: Autonomy, Community, and Divinity. This study used situation sampling to explore how people from Japan and the U.S. interpret moral transgressions provided in their own and another cultural context. Specifically, the analysis tested whether participants with one cultural background recognize culturally congruent moral transgressions as violations more frequently and feel more harshly towards them than culturally incongruent domains. Furthermore, the extent of evocation caused by the home and another culture was (...) investigated. This study asked 102 Japanese and 168 U.S. participants to judge which domain would be primarily involved in each transgression and to rate their wrongness. Participants showed a higher perceived magnitude of transgressions in culturally valued domains provided by in-group than outside members. Cross-cultural differences in morality and future directions are discussed. (shrink)

Does the A-theory have an intuitive advantage over the B-theory? Many A-theorists have claimed so, arguing that their theory has a much better explanation for the fact that we all experience the passage of time: we experience time as passing because time really does pass. In this paper I expose and reject the argument behind the A-theorist’s claim. I argue that all parties have conceded far too easily that there is an experience that needs explaining in the first place. For (...) what exactly is an experience of temporal passage? One natural thought is that we experience passage in virtue of experiencing change, or in virtue of experiencing change as ‘dynamic’. Another is that we experience passage in virtue of experiencing events as (successively) present. None of these experiences, I argue, amounts to an experience of passage. Although there might still be other ways to experience passage, A-theorists would have to provide us with a plausible candidate experience. If there is such an experience at all, it won’t be one that qualifies as what we intuitively take to be an experience of passage. The ‘intuitive advantage’, it seems, has dissolved in any case. (shrink)

When we cook, by meticulously following a recipe, or adding a personal twist to it, we sometimes care not only to (re-)produce a taste that we can enjoy, but also to give our food a certain aftertaste. This is not surprising, given that we ordinarily take aftertaste to be an important part of the gustatory experience as a whole, one which we seek out, and through which we evaluate what we eat and drink—at least in many cases. What is surprising (...) is that aftertastes, from a psychological point of view, seem to be analogous to afterimages, and thus have little or no epistemic import. In this paper we tackle this puzzle, and argue that we are right in treating aftertastes seriously. The moral is that both from a metaphysical and an epistemic point of view aftertastes should be categorized differently from afterimages. (shrink)

Using an eighth-century copy of the 60-fascicle Flower Ornament Sutra as a case study, this article examines the transformation of a Buddhist scripture into an aesthetic object in early modern Japan. On the 14th day of the second month, 1667, a fire decimated Nigatsudo at Todaiji (Nara prefecture) along with most of the sacred objects within. Clerics salvaged partially burnt scrolls of an eighth-century Flower Ornament Sutra done in silver ink on indigo-dyed paper. The scrolls were restored ten years later, (...) but by the first half of the eighteenth century, part of the set left the temple and began circulating in the art market as collectable calligraphy fragments, later known as the “Nigatsudo burnt sutra” (Nigatsudo yakegyo). This study traces the curious shift in the attribution of Nigatsudo yakegyo’s calligrapher that took place in the eighteenth century to consider how the burn marks impacted the transformation of this scripture from a devotional text into a collectable artefact. I argue that the curious switch in attribution occurred adhering to the popular imagination of the calligraphers, as well as the distinct role certain fragments played within the early-modern calligraphy collecting culture. (shrink)

This paper explores new avenues of research on social bases of cognition and a more adequate framework to conceive the phenomena of the human mind. It firstly examines Bartlett's work on social bases of cognition, from which three pertinent features are identified, namely multi-level analyses, evolutionary perspective and embodied mind approach. It then examines recent works on social origins of cognition in ethology and paleoanthropology, and various forms of the embodied mind approach recently proposed in neuroscience and cognitive science. The (...) paper concludes that extending the embodied mind approach would provide the most potent framework to enable, amongst others, the conceptual integration of the biological, psychological and social bases of the human mind, which have in the past been treated mainly as competing alternatives. (shrink)

Abstract- Presentism And Temporal Experience Intuitively, we all believe that we experience change and the passage of time. Presentism prides itself as the most intuitive theory of time. However, a closer look at how we would experience temporality if presentism was true reveals that this is far from obvious. For if presentism was really so intuitive, then it would do justice to these intuitions. In the course of this article I examine how presentism fares when combined with various leading theories (...) of perception and temporal perception. I focused on two Central Questions. Can presentism, given theory X, account for experiences of change and duration? And can presentism, given theory X, account for experiences of time as passing? I argue that there is no possible combination which allows for an experience of time as passing. This result alone undermines the alleged intuitive advantage of presentism and with it the motivation for the view. Presentism, it remains safe to say, is not as intuitive a theory as its adherents like to portray it. (shrink)

Is it the case that, in order to have a perceptual experience as of change, duration, or any other temporally extended occurrence at all, the duration of the experience itself must come apart from the apparent duration of what is experienced? I shall argue that such a view is at least coherent. The largest part of the paper will be concerned with an objection from Ian Phillips . The objection is interesting in so far as it is an argument from (...) introspection. If it worked, it would give us a priori, non-empirical grounds for thinking that a cluster of views about temporal perception are wrong, or worse, impossible. I will argue, however, that the objection fails. Towards the end, I briefly explore the view that we have no introspective access at all to the duration of our experiences. I suggest that such a view may well be supported by some considerations about the phenomenal continuity of consciousness. (shrink)

The project of my dissertation was to advance the metaphysical debate about temporal passage, by relating it to debates about the perceptual experience of time and change. It seems true that we experience temporal passage, even if there is disagreement whether time actually passes, or what temporal passage consists in. This appears to give the defender of dynamic time an advantage in accounting for our experience. I challenge this by arguing that no major account of temporal perception can accommodate experiences (...) of temporal passage such that we could infer passage from them. This shows that static theories of time are at no disadvantage in accounting for the phenomenology of temporality. The conclusion has far reaching consequences: for instance, an important motivation for holding an A-theory of time is precisely the psychological intuition that we experience temporal passage. By undermining that intuition, I undermine the motivation for holding an A-theory. (shrink)

We develop a theory about the metaphysics of time and modality that combines the conceptual resources devised in recent sympathetic work on ontological pluralism (the thesis that there are fundamentally distinct kinds of being) with the thought that what is past, future, and merely possible is less real than what is present and actual (albeit real enough to serve as truthmakers for statements about the past, future, and merely possible). However, we also show that despite being a coherent, distinctive, and (...) prima facie appealing position, the theory succumbs to what we call the “problem of mixed ontological status”. We conclude that the proponents of the theory can only evade these problems by developing ontological pluralism in a radically different way than it has been by its recent sympathizers. (shrink)

Background: Nurses are expected to make and implement autonomous decisions to provide patients with excellent quality nursing while practicing complex, high-level care. However, studies have shown that nursing practice based on autonomous decision-making is difficult, and a gap exists between decision-making and implementation. Research question/aim/objectives: This study aims to clarify trends among nursing professionals who recognize they are practicing ethical behavior in their nursing practice. Research design/Participants and research context: We surveyed the basic attributes of and used the Ode’s Ethical (...) Behavior Scale for Nurses with 3467 nursing professionals working at 34 hospitals in suburban cities of Japan and investigated the relationships among these factors. Ethical considerations: This study was approved by the appropriate research ethics committee. The Ethical Behavior Scale for Nurses was used with the authors’ permission. Findings/results: Significant differences were found in the mean “ethical behavior” scores between nurses and licensed practical nurses and midwives and licensed practical nurses. Mean scores for the “justice” subscale differed significantly between the low experience group and mid-level experience group and between the high experience group and mid-level experience group. Significant differences were also found in the mean scores between those with ethics education experience and those without, those with ethics training experience and those without, and those with ethics conference experience and those without. Discussion: Midwives and nurses had higher ethical behaviors than licensed practical nurses. Nursing professionals with low and high experience had higher justice scores than those with mid-level experience. Finally, nursing professionals with ethics education, training, or conference experience had higher ethical behavior than those without such experience. Conclusion: Nursing professionals who recognize they are practicing ethical behavior tend to be midwives or nurses with low or high levels of experience who attended ethics education, training, or conferences. (shrink)

In studies publishing identifying personal information, obtaining consent is regarded as necessary, as it is impossible to ensure complete anonymity. However, current journal practices around specific points to consider when obtaining consent, the contents of consent forms and how consent forms are managed have not yet been fully examined. This study was conducted to identify potential issues surrounding consent to publish identifying personal information.

This paper reports on a quiz robot experiment in which we explore similarities and differences in human participant speech, gaze, and bodily conduct in responding to a robot’s speech, gaze, and bodily conduct across two languages. Our experiment involved three-person groups of Japanese and English-speaking participants who stood facing the robot and a projection screen that displayed pictures related to the robot’s questions. The robot was programmed so that its speech was coordinated with its gaze, body position, and gestures in (...) relation to transition relevance places, key words, and deictic words and expressions in both languages. Contrary to findings on human interaction, we found that the frequency of English speakers’ head nodding was higher than that of Japanese speakers in human-robot interaction. Our findings suggest that the coordination of the robot’s verbal and non-verbal actions surrounding TRPs, key words, and deictic words and expressions is important for facilitating HRI irrespective of participants’ native language. Keywords: coordination of verbal and non-verbal actions; robot gaze comparison between English and Japanese; human-robot interaction ; transition relevance place ; conversation analysis. (shrink)

「脳死は人の死」のごまかし、がんでなくても人は死ぬ、「少年A」を解釈するな、埴谷雄高と大森荘蔵など、「魂」(プシューケー)の文体で考える純粋思惟の広大な視界。.

This study investigates Japanese compliments produced at a distinct sequential position and how the complimentees treat the compliments. In ordinary conversation, speakers sometimes talk about their accomplishments. Drawing on Conversation Analysis and multimodal interaction analysis, the study demonstrates how telling recipients deploy compliments at the possible completion of such tellings of accomplishment. The analysis also shows how the tellers deal with the complimentary telling responses, taking into consideration the design of tellings and the possibility of engaging in self-praise. The study (...) illuminates a context-sensitive nature of complimenting activity and managing two conflicting preferences by illustrating a specific interactional pattern of compliment sequences in Japanese ordinary conversation. (shrink)

We propose a new dynamical mechanism for information processing in mind and brain. We emphasize that a hermeneutic process is one of the key processes manifesting the functions of the brain and that it can be formulated as an itinerant motion in ultrahigh dimensional dynamical systems, which may give a new realm of the dynamic information processing. Our discussions are based on the notion of chaotic information processing and the observations of biological chaos.

How are we aware of time? How do we perceive change and duration? What is it like to experience temporality as opposed to spatiality? Does the way we experience time tell us anything about the nature of time? This chapter focusses on some of the most pertinent questions in the philosophy of time—on the relation between subjective and objective time, on the metaphysical and psychological priority of the present, on the phenomenal difference between our experiences of space and our experiences (...) of time, and on how to reconcile relativistic time concepts with our common-sense ideas. It gives us an interesting in sight into leading debates on the topic, largely within the phenomenological and hermeneutic philosophical traditions. This article intends to complement the chapter by providing a brief overview over views and debates about time consciousness in contemporary analytic philosophy. (shrink)

To ‘find one’s true self’ or to ‘reveal one’s true self’ are common enough expressions. But what do we really mean by the ‘true self’? Does it play an important explanatory role in understanding ourselves? The aim of this article is to shed light on the intuition that people have a true self—in contrast to their more readily perceptible “everyday self”—and to see whether we can give a clear philosophical account of it. When it comes to characterizing the true self (...) on the basis of these, I argue, our intuitions point us in two directions. The first suggests that the true self expresses a person’s essential nature. The second focuses on our own role in creating and maintaining a true self. I argue that both suggestions fail. Although the idea of a true self does not lack intuitive appeal, it is neither conducive to a convincing account, nor does it advance a theoretical understanding of ourselves as persons. (shrink)

To ‘find one’s true self’ or to ‘reveal one’s true self’ are common enough expressions. But what do we really mean by the ‘true self’? Does it play an important explanatory role in understanding ourselves? The aim of this article is to shed light on the intuition that people have a true self—in contrast to their more readily perceptible “everyday self”—and to see whether we can give a clear philosophical account of it. When it comes to characterizing the true self (...) on the basis of these, I argue, our intuitions point us in two directions. The first suggests that the true self expresses a person’s essential nature. The second focuses on our own role in creating and maintaining a true self. I argue that both suggestions fail. Although the idea of a true self does not lack intuitive appeal, it is neither conducive to a convincing account, nor does it advance a theoretical understanding of ourselves as persons. (shrink)

A given but otherwise random environmental time series impinging on the input of a certain biological processor passes through with overwhelming probability practically undetected. A very small percentage of environmental stimuli, though, is ‘captured’ by the processor's nonlinear dissipative operator as initial conditions, and is ‘processed’ as solutions of its dynamics. The processor, then, is in such cases instrumental in compressing or abstracting those stimuli, thereby making the external world to collapse from a previous regime of a ‘pure state’ of (...) suspended animation into a set of stable complementary and mutually exclusive eigenfunctions or ‘categories'. The characteristics of this cognitive set depend on the operator involved and the hierarchical level where the abstraction takes place. Depending on the context, the transition from one state to another occurs in such a cognitive operator. The chaotic itinerancy may play a crucial role for this process. In this paper we model the dynamics which may underlie such a cognitive process and the role of the thalamo-cortical pacemaker of the brain. In order to model them, conceptualization by the notion of ‘attractor ruin’ in high-dimensional dynamical systems is necessary. (shrink)

Using the concepts of chaotic dynamical systems, we present an interpretation of dynamic neural activity found in cortical and subcortical areas. The discovery of chaotic itinerancy in high-dimensional dynamical systems with and without a noise term has motivated a new interpretation of this dynamic neural activity, cast in terms of the high-dimensional transitory dynamics among “exotic” attractors. This interpretation is quite different from the conventional one, cast in terms of simple behavior on low-dimensional attractors. Skarda and Freeman (1987) presented evidence (...) in support of the conclusion that animals cannot memorize odor without chaotic activity of neuron populations. Following their work, we study the role of chaotic dynamics in biological information processing, perception, and memory. We propose a new coding scheme of information in chaos-driven contracting systems we refer to as Cantor coding. Since these systems are found in the hippocampal formation and also in the olfactory system, the proposed coding scheme should be of biological significance. Based on these intensive studies, a hypothesis regarding the formation of episodic memory is given. Key Words: Cantor coding; chaotic itinerancy; dynamic aspects of the brain; dynamic associative memory; episodic memory; high-dimensional dynamical systems; SCND attractors. (shrink)

Ariga Tetsutaro (1899–1977) war Professor für das Studium des Christentums an der Universität Kyoto und gehörte dort der zweiten Professoren-generation an. Er legte die Grundlagen der Patristik und der Erforschung des Christentums in Japan. In seinem Hauptwerk “Origenes” hatte er den Historismus in der Theologie erforscht, aber nachdem er seinen Dienst als Professor an der staatlichen Universität aufgenommen hatte, die die Trennung von Staat und Religion hochhielt, suchte er nach Wegen, ein ‘Studium des Christlichen’ zu etablieren, das sich von der (...) Theologie unterschied. Dabei dienten ihm Schleiermachers “Kurze Darstellung des theologischen Studiums” und die Tradition des deutschen liberalen Protestantismus als Anhaltspunkte. Anstatt der Theologie, die den Glauben als methodischen Ausgangspunkt hat, und der Religionswissenschaft, die nur die distanzierte Objektivität als Ausgangspunkt wählt, schlug er als neuen Versuch ein Christliches Studium mit akademischem Standpunkt vor, bei dem der Gelehrte eine Forschungshaltung einnimmt, die durch ein Mindestmaß an vernünftiger Kritik und ‘Ur-Sympathie’ gegenüber der Religion geprägt ist. (shrink)

Ariga Tetsutaro (1899–1977) war Professor für das Studium des Christentums an der Universität Kyoto und gehörte dort der zweiten Professoren-generation an. Er legte die Grundlagen der Patristik und der Erforschung des Christentums in Japan. In seinem Hauptwerk “Origenes” hatte er den Historismus in der Theologie erforscht, aber nachdem er seinen Dienst als Professor an der staatlichen Universität aufgenommen hatte, die die Trennung von Staat und Religion hochhielt, suchte er nach Wegen, ein ‘Studium des Christlichen’ zu etablieren, das sich von der (...) Theologie unterschied. Dabei dienten ihm Schleiermachers “Kurze Darstellung des theologischen Studiums” und die Tradition des deutschen liberalen Protestantismus als Anhaltspunkte. Anstatt der Theologie, die den Glauben als methodischen Ausgangspunkt hat, und der Religionswissenschaft, die nur die distanzierte Objektivität als Ausgangspunkt wählt, schlug er als neuen Versuch ein Christliches Studium mit akademischem Standpunkt vor, bei dem der Gelehrte eine Forschungshaltung einnimmt, die durch ein Mindestmaß an vernünftiger Kritik und ‘Ur-Sympathie’ gegenüber der Religion geprägt ist. (shrink)

It is important to manage individuals’ personal data after their death to maintain their dignity or follow their wishes as much as possible. From this perspective, this report describes the real-world commercialization of immortal digital personalities, which gives eternal life to the deceased in a digital form. We identify the problems with the commercialization of deceased users’ images and personal data, which becomes postmortem entertainment. Considering these problems, we seek out the ideal form of deceased users’ personal data for commercialization. (...) We conduct a social survey to understand how ordinary Japanese people feel about the various types of publicly available services that use personal data after death, such as social network service logs. By analyzing our survey results approximately 20% of respondents would allow the commercial use of their personal data, such as browsing their social network service logs, if they could receive compensation during their lifetime. (shrink)

As the internet becomes the basic resource of information, not only texts but images retrieval systems have been appeared. However, many of those supply only a list of images, so we have to seek the expecting images one by one. Although, image labeling is one of the solutions of such a problem, various words are labeled to an image if the words are extracted from only one Web page. Therefore, this paper proposes an image clustering system that labels images by (...) words related to a search keyword. This relationships are measured by Web pages in WWW. By the experimental results, users were enabled to find the intended images more faster than the ordinal image search system. (shrink)

Kampis proposes the study of chaotic itinerancy, pointing out its significance in domains of cognitive science and philosophy. He has discovered in the concept of chaotic itinerancy the possibility for a new dynamical approach that elucidates mental states with a physical basis. This approach may therefore provide the means to go beyond the connectionist approach. In accordance with his theory, I here highlight three issues regarding chaotic itinerancy: transitory dynamics, diversity, and self-modifying system.