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From March 12 to 14, 2025, the international conference “Anthropocene Calling II: Humans, Animals, Machines” was held at the Monastero di Astino, a collaborative facility of the University of Bergamo in Italy. Continuing from the international conference held at the University of Rome Tor Vergata in Italy in 2024, this symposium aims to conduct a multifaceted examination of the various issues arising from anthropocentrism, under the theme of the “Anthropocene.” The first conference featured subtitles corresponding to four research fields: “Nature, Technology, Language and Culture, and Art.” For this second conference, subtitles centered on research subjects such as “Humans, Animals, Machines,” thereby facilitating cross-disciplinary exchange.

At the symposium, Principal Investigator Yasuko Nakamura first delivered the opening address. Subsequently, Councilor Rodeschini of the MIA Foundation, which manages the venue, Astino Abbey, offered words of praise and welcome for the academic cooperation between Japan and Italy. He also noted that this symposium marked the first collaborative event between the University of Bergamo and the MIA Foundation. Participants in the symposium included members of the AAA Project, such as Takeda, the leader of Group 5, as well as researchers from the University of Bergamo, the University of Rome Tor Vergata, the University of Eastern Piedmont, and the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland.

Researchers from a wide range of disciplines—from the humanities to the natural sciences—gathered to present their research and engage in lively discussions based on their respective areas of expertise. The discussions were conducted in a mixture of English, Italian, and Japanese, demonstrating the deepening of academic collaboration between Japan and Italy (see the list at the end of this report).
This report provides an overview of the six sessions held over the three-day symposium—Nature I, Nature II, Humans and Animals, Robots and Emotions, Humans, Machines, and Habitus, and Art and Ecology—and offers concise summaries of each presentation.
Honorifics are omitted when referring to the presenters’ names.

The session “Nature I” examined how the relationship between humans and nature should be reconstructed in the Anthropocene, from religious, philosophical, and geopolitical perspectives. Okada’s presentation explored a non-fixed view of nature through medieval Christian ideas of resurrection, reincarnation, and transformation. While traditional Christian resurrection presupposes an unchanging self, it was demonstrated that the concept of transformation—regarded as heretical—is more compatible with contemporary ecological thought. The referenced works included the religious paintings in the intarsia style at the Cappella Colleoni in Bergamo, as well as works by the painter Lorenzo Lotto, who was active and had a great influence in Bergamo. Terrosi’s presentation identified three forms of alienation in the Anthropocene: the humanization of nature, the naturalization of humans, and the autonomy of technology. It explored reconstructing these relationships by critically isolating the connections between humans, nature, and technology and re-examining their individual existences. In Luisetti’s discussion, the overcoming of a colonialist view of nature was argued, based on the relationship between Earth and living organisms, and the concept of “Geopower”, which refers to the forces that transform the Earth. It was emphasized that not all humans are equally involved in the environmental problems the Earth faces in the Anthropocene, that the origins lie in the Plantationocene driven by colonialism, and that nature is not merely a resource. Works by artists such as Carolina Caycedo and Motoyuki Shimomichi, who express these themes, were referenced.

In the session “Nature II,” the concept of the Sublime served as a central theme, discussed from aesthetic and philosophical perspectives within the context of the Anthropocene. Takeda analyzed the work of photographer Naoya Hatakeyama, focusing on its theme of the sublime. He pointed out that Hatakeyama’s works consider the relationships between nature and humans, and nature and technology, as equal, which are different from the Romantic concept of the sublime. Referring to Nicolas Bourriaud’s “Anthropocenic Sublime,” he reexamined the contemporary relationship between humans and nature, proposing a form way of the sublime in the Anthropocene. Patella focused on the concept of the Sublime—an aesthetic sensitivity toward nature that has been emphasized since the eighteenth century. Traditional theories of the sublime identify two perspectives: one that regards nature as otherness to be feared (sentimental sublime), and another that internalizes nature as a mirror of the subject (metaphysical sublime). In the contemporary era of environmental crisis, he pointed out that the Uncanny is emerging as a new ecological emotion, suggesting three forms of the sublime. Heritier, from the perspectives of law and aesthetics, discussed the foundations of freedom and responsibility within anthropocentrism, as well as the basis of a pluralistic society, by drawing on three concepts concerning the essence of humanity—homo homini lupus, homo homini deus, and homo homini homo—with reference to Plato’s concept of chōra and the debates of the Kyoto School.

In the session “Humans and Animals,” various perspectives were presented on the relationship between humans and non-human forms of life—including animals and zombies—from the viewpoints of image studies, post-apocalyptic representations, and empathy. Ninomiya focused on aesthetic visual expression in animals, reconsidering the creation of images as a phenomenon that transcends species. Based on the discussions of Darwin and Portmann, he also suggested the possibility that animals engage in creative expression as well. Fukuda examined representations of the apocalypse and zombies in Japanese subculture, focusing particularly on works classified as “Sekai-kei” and “post-Sekai-kei.” A uniquely Japanese approach is found in the emphasis on individual ways of living within a collapsed world, rather than on rebuilding society or investigating causes. Saito focused on empathy as a dynamic process of action prediction, investigating how self-referential empathy and cognitive empathy contribute to action prediction. Specifically, using a reinforcement learning model, the participants performed a task predicting the decision-maked by a human partner and a non-human agent. As a result, it was shown that there are two learning processes called emotional empathy and cognitive empathy, which play an important role in understanding human decision-making.

In the session “Robots and Emotions,” analyses were presented on the recognition of emotions arising between artificial agents and humans from psychological and philosophical perspectives. Izumi, drawing on conceptual space and the semantics of (anti)honorifics, demonstrated that the rhetoric of dehumanization does not merely deny humanity but involves a downgrading act that lowers one’s position in the social hierarchy. Furthermore, he showed that even non-human artificial agents can be linguistically dehumanized. From a psychological perspective, Ikeda showed that humans have a natural tendency to recognize other humans from early childhood, highlighting the inherent difficulty for humans to naturally accept AI and robots. To address this, he discussed the importance of habitus—habitual patterns of behavior—for coexisting with robots and AI. Nakamura and Zheng applied text-mining techniques to analyze Freud’s complete works, elucidating the development of his thought. Analysis using k-means clustering revealed three distinct periods—Phase I (1886–1901), Phase II (1905–1919), and Phase III (1919–1939)—and confirmed the evolution of key concepts such as emotion, libido, and drive. Furthermore, the structural topic model (STM) revealed two turning points in Freud’s theory (1900 and 1907). The results showed that the subject of Freud’s persistent theme of anxiety (angst) expanded from women to children and then to humanity as a whole.

In the session “ Humans, Machines, and Habitus,” participants discussed how human behavior patterns—habitus—are changing and being shaped by the development of AI and machine technology. Yamamoto focused on generative AI, which now generates data utilized in all aspects of life as technological innovation advances, examining its relationship with human creativity. Using examples like Hatsune Miku and the interactions between humans and ChatGPT with customized personalities, he explored the impact of coexisting with generative AI on mental health and discussed the formation of new habitus. Ohira examined from a neuroscientific perspective how habits, implemented and embodied within the brain as proposed in neuroscientist Jean-Pierre Changeux’s paper “The Neural Basis of Habitus,” are formed, maintained, and shared, aiming to elucidate the neural mechanisms . The results revealed that learning and decision-making regarding monetary rewards, as well as learning and decision-making concerning social norms and behaviors, rely on common brain regions such as the striatum within the basal ganglia. Furthermore, from the perspective of Bayesian brain theory, the study also examined the mechanisms for adapting to new information and constructing models of the world. Verdicchio, through the concept of the “Machinocene”—where computers attain intelligence far surpassing humans and bring the Anthropocene to an end—presents a future vision not of a broken relationship between humans and machines, but of humans adapting to mechanical thinking. He thus proposes the Machine Age as an extension of the Anthropocene. Specifically, the relationship between media and the singer Charli XCX and the actor Karla Sofía Gascón, etc., as well as Instagram posts, were taken as examples. This session featured discussions on the possibilities of new habitus emerging from human adaptation and evolution in the AI era, asking how human thought and behavior will change together with machines.

In the session “Art and Ecology,” new perspectives on vitality and the environment through art were explored. Iinuma examined Lygia Clark’s work Bichos from the perspective of semiotic animism, analyzing how an inorganic artwork can embody or manifest a sense of vitality. Focusing on the creature-like qualities that emerge when viewers interact with the artwork, she applied the concept of animism to art, suggesting the possibility for artworks to attain a form of autonomy. Ikeno examined contemporary art of the Anthropocene era through the theme of the atmosphere and the air that envelops the Earth and surround human beings. She first considered the work of Haruko Mikami, exploring air as a component of the human living sphere and its limits. She then analyzed Bruno Latour’s Critical Zones exhibition, focusing on his idea that the atmosphere is constituted through the actions of all actors, both human and non-human. It has been confirmed that in the Anthropocene, we must recognize that the atmosphere is not merely an invisible surrounding environment, but is constructed within relationships with technology, society, and humanity.

In summary, this symposium developed discussions within the broad frameworks of the Anthropocene, focusing on humans and the natural environment surrounding them, as well as technological society, including generative AI. First, it attempted to rethink how humans relate to non-human entities, or whether changes are occurring in these relationships, exploring shifts in these connections and interactions. This involved rethinking the nature of humans, animals, nature, and machines. Second, as humans build new relationships with robots and generative AI—entities inherently difficult to perceive—discussions explored the pursuit of new habitus, such as identifying human-like qualities or similarities with humans. The theme of coexistence possibilities with these entities was deeply debated. These research findings, based on an interdisciplinary perspective from the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences, reconsidered the limitations of anthropocentrism and deepened new insights toward building a sustainable society.

After the international symposium, participants had the opportunity to visit the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan and the Museum of Criminal Anthropology Cesare Lombroso in Turin. The collection of the Pinacoteca di Brera symbolizes how humanity has interacted with its surrounding environment throughout history, while the psychological instruments displayed at the Lombroso Museum can be regarded as precursors to modern AI technologies. The international symposium in Bergamo primarily discussed the present and future of the Anthropocene; meanwhile, the field visits in Milan and Turin provided opportunities to reconsider the relationship between humans and the environment in the Anthropocene through the lens of accumulated history.

Based on the discussions at this symposium, it is hoped that research and debate will continue actively in the ongoing Anthropocene.

List of symposium participants(presentation order)
– Atsushi OKADA, Professor, Kyoto Seika University
– Roberto TERROSI, Researcher, University of Rome Tor Vergata
– Federico LUISETTI, Associate Professor, University of St. Gallen
– Giuseppe PATELLA, Professor, University of Rome Tor Vergata

– Paolo HERITIER, Professor, University of Eastern Piedmont

– Nozomu NINOMIYA, JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow / The University of Tokyo
– Asako FUKUDA, Assistant Professor, Professional Institute of International Fashion

– Natsuki SAITO, Researcher, Nagoya University

– Yu IZUMI, Associate Professor, Nanzan University / RIKEN AIP
– Shinnosuke IKEDA, Associate Professor, Kanazawa University
– Yasuko NAKAMURA, Professor, Nagoya University
– Wanwan ZHENG, Assistant Professor, Nagoya University

– Tetsuya YAMAMOTO, Associate Professor, Tokushima University


– Hideki OHIRA, Professor, Nagoya University

– Mario VERDICCHIO, Associate Professor, University of Bergamo

– Yoko IINUMA, PhD student, Kyoto University

– Ayako IKENO, Associate Professor, Aoyama Gakuin University

(Authorship: Yoko IINUMA, Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University)

🌟First Half　

On November 4, 2014, Nagoya University and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, co-hosted an international symposium titled “DANCING WITH ALL: The Ecology of Empathy.” at Sakata-Hirata Hall, Higashiyama Campus, Nagoya University. This symposium was held in conjunction with the exhibition of the same title, which had opened on November 2 at the museum. Following a keynote lecture by Emanuele Coccia of the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociale (EHESS) Paris, Hasegawa Yuko, director of the museum, curator Jin Motohashi, five members of the project team gave presentations in their respective fields of expertise.

At the beginning of the symposium, Jun’ichi Sakuma, Vice President of Nagoya University, delivered the opening remarks. He expressed his hope that this symposium—bringing together researchers from diverse fields beyond the arts and humanities under the theme of “An Ecology of Empathy”—would serve both as a platform to communicate the significance of the project to society and as a fruitful venue for collaboration between art and academia.

Next, Yasuko Nakamura, the Principal Investigator, explained the purpose of the symposium. She referred to Friedrich Hölderlin’s phrase, “Poetically, humans dwell” (Dichterisch Wohnet der Mensch), and stressed the need to understand human activities—through which people form flexible relationships with others via language, sound, and rhythm—as a dance between humans and things, resonating with others through bodily sensation and movement. She also defined the shared core issue between the project’s goals and the exhibition at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa.

Following that, Emanuele Coccia delivered a keynote lecture titled “Metropolitan Nature: How Nature Builds Cities.” Using the game “Pokémon” as an example, he illustrated how children learn to engage with nature through play, mediated by high-tech devices such as the Pokédex and Poké Balls. He demonstrated that the spiritual connection between humans and nature is continuously mediated by art and technology. From this perspective, he discussed the role of museums as spaces where people and nature interact.

The exhibition subtitled “Ecology of Empathy” presents a vision in which the museum functions like a city, providing a space for symbiosis where all living things share the same rhythm and “dance” together, rather than merely displaying themselves to one another. Emanuele Coccia stated, “What we need now is not technology for speaking, but technology for seeing.” He proposed a new ecological philosophy—the theme of this symposium,suggesting that by seeing through the eyes of others, we can open up nature as a space for empathy beyond our own bodies.
(Authorship: Akane Hayayanagi, 2nd-year Master’s student, Graduate School of Humanities, Osaka University)

🌟Second Half　

After Emanuele Coccia’s keynote lecture and a short break, the other speakers shared their insights on the symposium’s theme from the perspective of their respective fields.

・Yuko Hasegawa — Director of 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Art History
Director Hasegawa first introduced her role as curator of this symposium, explaining how her encounter with Professor Coccia led to the theme of “dance” for this symposium. She also emphasized that one important role of an art museum is to be a place that seeks common ground, rather than focusing only on differences. She then explained the exhibition’s concept, using the diagram included in the exhibition pamphlet. Touching on some of the actual works on display, she introduced how dance is performed with other entities within this exhibition.

・Jin Motohashi — Curator of 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, History of Architecture
Motohashi spoke on the topic “The Ecological Paradigm: From an Architectural Perspective,” drawing on insights from architecture. Using the recent trend of wooden constructions as an example, he pointed out that the association among “environment, nature, and wooden architecture” can be overly simplistic, and emphasized the need to reconsider whether it truly represents coexistence. He mentioned Team ZOO as an example of practitioners who pursued wooden architecture aiming for coexistence with nature even before the recent trend. Introducing their architectural works, he discussed their roots and suggested that the issue of proportion with nature was inherently contained within Modernist architecture. He then stated that a future challenge is the need to re-examine how the essential concept of nature is contained within the inorganic nature of Modernist architecture.

・Ayako Ikeno — Aoyama Gakuin University, History of Art
Professor Ikeno shared her thoughts on the exhibition, as well as the following three points. First, regarding “reconsidering materialism,” she expressed her impression that the works in this exhibition similarly possess the same significance as the Italian art movement Arte Povera (Poor Art), which challenges the “abundant art” benefiting from capitalism by reexamining capitalism and anthropocentrism. Second, she explained her current research on art based on breathing and the atmosphere, touching on the influence of Professor Coccia’s Philosophy of Plant Life. Finally, leading into the discussion, she raised the issue of “Empathy and Politics.” Referring to Maria Fernanda Cardoso’s work “On the Origin of Art I-II” and drawing on her own impressions after seeing a spider dance, she posed the question: Could the problem of empathy with others also be connected to politics between different species?

・Yoichi Iwasaki — Nagoya University, Indian Philosophy
Iwasaki presented poetry from Kalidasa’s work Shakuntala under the theme “Dancing with All Things—Shakuntala.” He explained that Kalidasa’s work, where humans gather with plants, animals, the sun, the moon, and various other entities, connects to this theme of “dancing with all things.” He then actually recited the poem in the original Sanskrit, explaining that this was necessary because translation was not enough for full understanding. Finally, he noted that while plants are not typically considered companions of humans, who possess souls, in Indian thought, plants are also “living beings” that “breathe.” He stated that Indian thought reveals a vision where various beings, including plants, dance together.

・Hideyuki Takahashi — Osaka University, Human-Agent Interaction
Takahashi presented on the relationship between humans and robots under the title “The Mysterious Adventures Created by the Dance Between Humans and Machines.” Focusing on the relationship between humans and robots, he highlighted that humans not only want robots to “do things for them,” but also want to “do things for others.” He introduced robots that fulfill this desire and research results utilizing them. He proposed that striking a balance between “wanting to do for others” and “wanting others to do for us” is crucial. He suggested that by controlling this balance through communication as a medium, we can create a future where humans and robots (machines) exist in an equal relationship. He stated that creating systems that avoid dependence on machines and establish an equal relationship between humans and machines would lead to sharing others’ subjective worlds, expanding one’s own world, and even creating new cultures.

・Tetsuya Yamamoto — Tokushima University, Clinical Psychological Informatics
Yamamoto gave a presentation titled “The Ecology of Empathy Dancing with Digital Technology: Toward an Era of Resonance Between Humans and Virtual Characters,” discussing the relationship between humans and virtual characters. He began by highlighting a similarity between dance and technology: “transcending boundaries to bring people together.” As an example of what the fusion of digital technology and dance can offer humans, he introduced “AR Awa Odori,” where participants dance the Awa Odori alongside virtual characters. Regarding the impact of living with virtual characters, he also introduced flexible, conversational virtual characters developed using generative AI. He reported findings from studies on the effects of interacting with these characters, noting that conversations led to reduced distress and increased feelings of happiness. Finally, he pointed out the possibility of resonance occurring between humans and virtual characters as a future research direction.

・Takashi Ito — Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, History of Emotions
Ito focused his remarks on the symposium title, ‘Dancing with All Things: An Ecology of Empathy.’ He first highlighted the particle ‘to’ in the title, discussing how replacing this ‘to’ with other words might alter the relationships within the theme. Next, he addressed “empathy,” pointing out that it possesses various aspects where elements like inclusion and diffusion are two sides of the same coin. Finally, focusing on “dance,” he suggested that the repetition and gemination in phrases like “dance the dance” create a sense of rhythm and pause, thereby recalling the continuity of life.

Following presentations by each speaker, a discussion period was held. First, Coccia responded to the speakers’ remarks . He raised the question of what significance collaborations like this symposium between universities and museums hold, and pointed out that universities tend to academically integrate diverse elements into a single framework. He stated that rethinking new forms of knowledge is essential at the very beginning of such collaborations. As an example, he suggested that philosophers should not only publish books and papers as they do now, but also explore the necessity of expressing themselves through other forms, languages, and media.He also noted that the relationship with robots and virtual characters discussed by Takahashi and Yamamoto is similar to the way humans interact with pets like dogs and cats, in which they try to express themselves in ways that align with human psychology. He then argued that to achieve “dancing with all things,” it is necessary to create a new culture, a global culture and language that are common to all humans, and that universities must become the platform for this.

Finally, questions from the participants and discussions among the speakers took place. The symposium ended with closing remarks delivered by Professor Yoshiyuki Suto (Dean of the Graduate School of Humanities, Nagoya University).
(Authorship: Motoki Tanaka, First-year Doctoral Student, Graduate School of Humanities, Nagoya University)

At INTERFACEing2024 (National Taiwan University), Wanwan Zheng (Group 1), Yasuko Nakamura (Group 1), and Kazunori Hayanagi (Nagasaki University) organized and presented a panel titled “Narrative Sentiment Analysis using Language Models.”

　In this panel, the presenters explored the possibilities and challenges of emotion analysis using large language models (LLMs), focusing on the complexity of emotions found in literary works and policy speeches. We aimed to analyze latent and multilayered emotional expressions that cannot be fully captured by a simple “positive/negative” dichotomy. In addition to sentiment analysis, discussions were held on the transition of topics within documents, text understanding, and the interpretation of how expressions of subjectivity can be combined with emotional data.

　During the Q&A session, there was a lively exchange of opinions on the relationship between emotion and meaning, models and traditional humanistic interpretation, and many insights were gained on the possibility of connecting interpretability in machine learning with humanistic reading. All of the presentations from this panel were further examined and included in the first volume of the series.

Yoichi IWASAKI (Group 2: Indian Philosophy) raised questions about how AI presents itself as an intelligent entity from the perspective of Buddhist semantics. Mario VERDICCHIO (University of Bergamo: Philosophy of Technology) examine the risks of using AI and interpreted it as a co-product of technology and society. Sonia ZHANG (New School University), who has a background in STS (Science, Technology, and Society), offered insights from a case study of robot development, urging a reevaluation of the relationship between philosophy and technology.

At the East-West Philosophers’ Conference (University of Hawaii), Yasuko NAKAMURA and Wanwan ZHENG (Group 1), Yoichi IWASAKI (Group 2), Koji TACHIBANA (Group 2), Yu IZUMI (Group 3), and Hideki OHIRA (Group 5), presented at a joint panel entitled “Evolving Humanity: Pain and Healing in the AI Era.”

　From March 14 to 15, 2024, the international conference “Anthropocene Calling: Human, Philosophy, Technology and Arts in the Age of Anthropocene” was held at the University of Rome Tor Vergata in Italy. Addressing the issues of the “Anthropocene”—an era in which humanity’s irreversible impact on the Earth can no longer be ignored—requires interdisciplinary research that transcends traditional academic boundaries. As its title suggests, this symposium was organized as a forum to examine the vast issues of the Anthropocene from multiple perspectives, including nature, technology, language and culture, and the arts. Researchers from Group 5 of the AAA and the University of Rome Tor Vergata participated in the event, highlighting the importance of collaborative research between Japan and Italy on the theme of the Anthropocene.

Before each session, a welcome address was given by Professor Lorenzo Perilli, Chair of the Department of Humanities at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, followed by opening remarks from the principal investigators of Italy and Japan, Professor Giuseppe PATELLA and Professor Yasuko NAKAMURA. In their introductory speeches, the problem awareness and purpose of the conference were explained, and they shared the significance and goals of academic engagement with the concept of the “Anthropocene.”

Rather than following each session one by one, the author has chosen to reorganize and report on the symposium by grouping its content around three main thematic points for convenience. It should be noted in advance that, due to the exceptionally wide range of topics covered in the presentations and the subsequent discussions during the Q&A sessions, many details are inevitably omitted from the summary below. A list of symposium participants is provided at the end of this report (names of speakers are given without honorifics).

🌟１：a fundamental reflection on humanity and a deepening of philosophical understanding

The term “Anthropocene” is derived from the prefix anthropo-meaning “human”. In other words, contained within the notion of the Anthropocene is the recognition that human beings—insignificant when seen against the vast history of the Earth—have come to exert an undeniable influence at a geological scale. In Session 1, Giuseppe PATELLA’s presentation, drawing on M. HEIDEGGER’s concept of the “age of the world picture,” revisited the problem of the modern way of thinking that decisively separates subject and object, and suggested the potential of the Anthropocene as a means of overcoming anthropocentrism, using a wide range of contemporary philosophical trends as points of reference. The issue of universalism implied by the Anthropocene, as highlighted here, was taken up for deeper examination in Session 3 by Vincenzo CUOMO. CUOMO classified experimental practices related to the Anthropocene into two types: the route of political activists and the symbiotic spectral (Symbiotec-spectral) route, and focused on the concept of “parasite” inspired by the philosophy of Michel SERRES. These presentations, inspired by contemporary trends speculatively discussing the Anthropocene, formed the foundation of this interdisciplinary symposium.

On the other hand, the re-examination of the concept of “human” was deepened through research clarifying our psychological, cognitive, and environmental conditions. The presentations by Yasuko NAKAMURA and Hideki OHIRA in Session 1, and by Francesco CAMPAGNOLA in Session 2, can be considered to have shared this awareness of the issues.
NAKAMURA’s presentation analyzed human-specific emotional expressions, particularly in literature, using machine learning-based data analysis. It visualized the distribution of emotions in literary expressions and their translations through a numerical model. An analytical method that releases emotions from the mystery once reserved for humans and interprets them as sequences of data points indicates one possible form of the “humanities” of the next era — a study about the human.
Drawing on abundant evidence, OHIRA persuasively demonstrated the thesis that predictive processes are involved at the core of human psychological functions. Cases such as optical illusions that use blind spots in cognitive functions demonstrate how human consciousness is structured by already acquired knowledge and habits.
People build their identities in relation to the environment around them. In his presentation, Campagnola began by discussing the “desert mentality” in the Western cultural sphere, mentioning figures like Saint Jerome and Saint Anthony, and then swiftly turned his attention to Japanese literary criticism, covering Tetsuro WATSUJI’s theory of climate and Kiyoteru HANADA’s writings on the desert. The idea that human consciousness and ways of seeing emerge and develop not on their own, but through interactions with both external and internal factors — the term “internal” here being not the familiar, self-tamed aspects, but an internality that appears as other, like the unconscious — echoed like a continuous background theme throughout the symposium, even though it did not directly resonate with the theme of the Anthropocene.

🌟２：a rethinking of the relationship between humans and highly developed technology

Since the Anthropocene involves the violence of technologies that humans have historically enlarged, it is impossible to avoid the examination of technology theories from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Among the presenters, it was Roberto TERROSI in Session 5 who developed the most ambitious discourse on technological culture. He boldly proposed adopting the term not “Anthropocene” but “Technocene.” What has defined human history is not so much human cultural activities themselves, but rather the movement of “technology” that optimizes and controls all flows of energy. Tetsuya YAMAMOTO’s presentation, which reported on the recent possibilities of using virtual reality from the perspective of a clinical counselor, indicates that contemporary society is moving closer to the “Technocene” concept proposed by TERROSI. The attempt to apply virtual avatars – created by scanning real human bodies – to psychological counseling may suggest that the boundary between machines and living organisms has already begun to dissolve has already begun to dissolve.

Even so, if such technological advancements are left unchecked, it is obvious that various forms of social disorder will arise everywhere. The emotional rejection that comes instinctively toward cutting-edge technology invites criticism as a reactionary response that hinders the creation of new culture. Yet, uncritical technological faith also carries a certain risk. In Session 4, Mario VERDICCHIO discussed how the “sociotechnical blindness” which inevitably accompanies emerging technologies, can be applied to the Anthropocene, pointing out the social and practical traps hidden within slogans that sensationally announce the dawn of a new era. In Session 5, NINOMIYA also examined the runaway development of technology, which gradually takes away any room for reflection in human culture, drawing on the ideas of the German art historian Aby Warburg. Warburg criticized technological civilization by reexamining Native American myths through an ethnographic and visual lens. Technology, however, has destroyed the “space for thought” that allowed people to understand the meanings in that world. The challenge of easing the tension between technology and humans, and of understanding their relationship, is an urgent academic issue in the Anthropocene era.

🌟３：exploring a new cosmology via art

The concept of the Anthropocene is based on a global awareness of environmental destruction and pollution. Since the 1950s, as mass production and consumption, nuclear fuel development, and ecosystem destruction progressed, experts and activists have repeatedly emphasized the need for a minimum ethical framework to avoid the worst-case scenarios that could threaten the planet’s survival. Artists, highly sensitive to the currents of their time, have identified ecological and environmental issues as subjects for their work, approaching them differently from scientists and politicians. Ayako IKENO presented on the themes of “breathing” and “air” in 20th-century art, focusing in particular on two artists active in the 1960s: Giuseppe PENONE in Italy and Seiko MIKAMI in Japan. She explored, through numerous works, what meanings these artists found in “air.” Similarly, Hironari TAKWDA’s presentation interpreted the photo series of Japanese photographer Naoya HATAKEYAMA as landscapes of the Anthropocene, revealing how artists perceive and represent the environment from unusual perspectives. The crystallized images in HATAKEYAMA’s works depict, in a strikingly complex way, the intersections and conflicts between nature and culture.

When it comes to art showing the natural world around us, the genre of landscape painting has long played an important role in Western culture. Paolo D’ANGELO’s presentation, originating from activist protests against John Constable’s famous painting The Hay Wain, described critiques of the negative meanings of the word “landscape,” while explaining, in the Italian context, how it has been contrasted with the word “environment.” However, the situation is not as simple as just replacing “landscape,” which reflects civilization’s sense of beauty, with “environment,” which better reflects actual nature. Encouraged by the pioneering work of 20th-century landscape theorist Rosario Assunto, D’ANGELO suggested a way to move beyond the binary opposition between landscape and environment.
The next presentation by Atsushi OKADA went further back in time, looking into the beginnings of ecological thought among writers from the 19th century to the early 20th century. The works and practices of Alexander von HUMBOLDT, Ernst HAECKEL, and Élise RECLUS, each in their own way, show early signs of ecological ideas even though they were different. Despite colonialism, HUMBOLT was attracted to exotic landscape paintings; HAECKEL created visually striking illustrations of organisms based on his own ideas about nature; and RECLUS designed large diorama-like displays that remind us of the “Blue Marble” image of Earth taken by Apollo 17 in 1972. The images of the planet Earth that these 19th-century thinkers had in mind are not only interesting from a cultural history perspective but also provide useful hints for thinking about new ways to understand the cosmos today.

At this international conference, which was organized primarily by researchers from AAA Group 5, there was a lot of discussion about the impact of the “Anthropocene” on the humanities. Furthermore, the conference provided an opportunity to examine cultural history—including art and technology—from the perspective of the Anthropocene. Overall, one of the major outcomes was the confirmation that the key term “Anthropocene” functions as a connecting point across diverse research fields and encourages new avenues of intellectual inquiry.

Apart from the international symposium, we were also able to meet Roberto ESPOSITO during the Italian conference. The concept of biopolitics, a major topic of Group 5, has drawn inspiration from his philosophical study. He guided us through the historic building of the Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Filosofici in Naples, where he once served as director, and afterwards we enjoyed a relaxed conversation at his home for about an hour, followed by lunch at a nearby restaurant. In his every gesture, we could feel his kind personality and warm, welcoming spirit. He is truly a thinker of communitas, the idea of living together.

As for the future outlook, it will be important to share the insights into the Anthropocene gained from this symposium with the other research groups of the AAA project. While much of the discussion at this international conference focused on the Anthropocene from a humanities perspective due to participants’ backgrounds, integrating perspectives from the natural and social sciences can highlight the strengths of an interdisciplinary research project. The symposium provided a valuable starting point for giving scholarly depth to the Anthropocene, which encompasses multiple layers—scientific concepts, guiding slogans for social practices, and the driving force behind creative artistic activities—and for expanding discussion more broadly. Looking ahead, the research project plans to publish a collection of essays based on this conference, which is expected to foster further development of the research.

🌟List of symposium participants

– Yasuko NAKAMURA, Professor, Nagoya University
– Giuseppe PATELLA, Associate professor, University of Rome Tor Vergata
– Hideki OHIRA, Professor, Nagoya University
– Francesco CAMPAGNOLA, Principal Investigator, University of Lisbon
– Hironari TAKEDA, Associate professor, Kyoto University
– Paolo D’ANGELO, Professor, University of Rome Tre,
– Atsushi OKADA, Professor, Kyoto Seika University,
– Vincenzo CUOMO, Director, Review “Kaiak”
– Mario VERDICCHIO, Researcher, University of Bergamo
– Tetsuya YAMAMOTO, Associate professor, Tokushima University
– Roberto TERROSI, Researcher, University of Rome Tor Vergata
– Ayako IKENO, Associate professor, Aoyama Gakuin University
– Nozomu NINOMIYA, PhD candidate, Kyoto University
(Authorship: Nozomu NINOMIYA, Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University)

On May 26, 2023, a workshop entitled “Genre(s) et Sexualité(s) dans la littérature de langue française (17e – 21e siècles)” (Gender and Sexuality in French Literature, from the 17th to 21st Century) was held at the Department of French Language and Literature, Graduate School and Faculty of Letters, Kyoto University. In addition to project members BEAUVIEUX Marie-Noëlle (Meiji Gakuin University) and Toriyama Teiji (Kyoto University), we invited VINCENT Charles (Université de Valenciennes) and BRIN Raphaëlle (École Normale Supérieure de Lyon) from France, and LE FLOC’H Justine (Kyoto University) from Japan. Each participant presented their research and engaged in discussions and exchanges of ideas.

Dr. LE FLOC’H presented her research entitled “La représentation des femmes dans L’Histoire de Sapho de Madeleine de Scudéry” (The Representation of Women in L’Histoire de Sapho by Madeleine de Scudéry), in which she introduced the views of the 17th-century French female writer Madeleine de Scudéry on women’s education and conduct, as reflected through the depiction of Sappho in her work

Dr. Brun, in presenting “Différentes pistes pour une exploration de la question de la différence des genres au 18e siècle”(Different Approaches to Exploring the Question of Gender Difference in the 18th Century), introduced a variety of research perspectives: the discourse during the French Revolution that criticized the “femininity” of the French language and argued for the restoration of its “masculinity”; the problem of language and gender in Casanova’s works; and utopian literature (androgyny, worlds without gender difference), among others.

From the perspective of “Relire Diderot, Thomas et Madame d’Épinay après Élisabeth Badinter” (Rereading Diderot, Thomas, and Madame d’Épinay after Élisabeth Badinter) Dr. Vincent critically examined the works of Élisabeth Badinter, a contemporary French philosopher and feminist. He emphasized the necessity of rereading 18th-century writers such as Diderot, Thomas, and Madame d’Épinay with full consideration of the social and cultural contexts of the 18th century.

Dr. BEAUVIEUX addressed the issue of “La rhétorique de la concision au service de la discrimination : l’exemple de la discrimination de genre” (the rhetoric of conciseness and sexism), presenting the contemporary French movement of “feminist collage” and showing how the rhetoric of conciseness is connected to the problem of gender discrimination.

Toriyama discussed “Genre et sexualité dans la poésie française” (Gender and Sexuality in French Poetry), presenting how linguistic gender, as seen in features such as rhyme, relates to the sexuality of writers, and introducing how descriptions in dictionaries and poetics from the sixteenth century reflect the gender views of their times.

After that, we held a Q&A session and a general discussion, where we talked about the possibility of connecting research in the humanities with other fields (especially biology, ethology, evolutionary psychology, and psychoanalysis)—for example, by examining the historical development of discourses and terminology concerning “androgyny.” We also discussed the possibility of collaborating with researchers overseas.
(Authorship: Toriyama and BEAUVIEUX)