Category Archives: Activities

On December 7, 2024, the fifth Meeting for Theories Group was held in Room 402 of the Main Building, Faculty of Letters, Nagoya University.

Yasuko Nakamura presented “Freud’s Text Analysis,” structured in three parts: an activity report, future plans, and a research progress report. The progress report shared the increase in the number of documents included in the corpus and the accompanying progress in data processing, new discoveries using structural topic models enabled by data expansion, and attempts at lexical interpretation through topic analysis.

During the Q&A session, there were comments regarding comparisons with other thinkers who showed changes between the early and late periods. Discussions were held on the selection of comparison subjects and the validity of the analysis methods, and approaches for future research were considered.

Tetsuki Tamura delivered a presentation titled “How is ‘Politics’ Possible in a Post-Anthropocentric World?” exploring the potential for “post-anthropocentric politics” based on Actor-Network Theory (ANT). This presentation explored the possibility of a new framework that does not limit ‘politics’ to an anthropocentric framework but incorporates relationships with things and non-humans.

During the Q&A session, discussions covered whether objects and non-humans could function as agents in politics, how legitimacy and responsibility might be distributed in a “politics” that includes these elements, and whether objects and non-humans could make an essential contribution to ‘politics.’

Reiji Suzuki first explained the concept of niche construction in the social particle swarm model. To observe the effects of environmental modification through interactions and its accumulation on the behavior of social groups, two key elements were introduced: the cultural niche and the fluid niche. He then presented an integrated analysis of the Prisoner’s Dilemma and the stag hunt game, and an attempt to extract behavioral tendencies from personality trait descriptions.

During the Q&A session, discussions covered the concept of niche construction, the construction of the agent itself, whether agent behavior is optimized, the impact of niche construction on long-term cooperation formation, and its interactions with other environmental factors.

Kenta Ohira reported on this year’s publication and academic conference activities, and presented the latest research progress on finding solutions to delayed differential equations. This research introduced new methods and analytical results for solving delayed differential equations, and presented future prospects.

Toru Ohira explained the dynamics of pattern formation in animal epidermis. He provided a detailed explanation of how factors such as growth, seasonality, and body temperature influence the emergence and fading of patterns, and visualized the dynamics of pattern formation using simulations.

During the Q&A session, lively discussions took place regarding the parameter settings and their criteria in Kenta Ohira’s research on delayed differential equations, as well as the potential applications of biological pattern formation presented by Toru Ohira to other fields.

During the Q&A session, discussions covered examples of BC utilization and its societal significance, BC systems without human intervention, and the roles and influence of actors in BC implementation.

Wanwan Zheng presented “Sentiment Analysis: Bias in Human Emotion Judgment,” addressing the primary challenge of “data subjectivity” in sentiment analysis. To address this issue, she focused on extracting more reliable data and building sentiment analysis models based on it. She demonstrated methods to overcome subjectivity in sentiment labeling and potential for further improvement of sentiment analysis models.

Shu Hirata presented on “Animism, Gaia, and Multispecies,” explaining the concept of animism and its contemporary significance. Bruno Latour’s vision of the non-modern was cited as the philosophical foundation of animism, emphasizing the hybrydity of nature and society. The presentation also redefined the city as a space “not only for humans” and proposed that coexistence with other species should be taken into account in urban design.

During the Q&A session, lively discussions took place on issues such as the general conception of modernity and the separation of nature and society based on it, the relationship and interactions between humans and non-human actors, and the hybridity of nature and society.

Hideki Ohira presented titled “Neural Habitus: Mechanisms of the Brain and Body Generating, Maintaining, and Transforming Habitus,” reexamining Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of “habitus” from a neuroscientific perspective. From the view of the brain as a “predictive machine,” the presentation provided a detailed explanation of how discrepancies between predictions based on internal models and actual inputs—so-called prediction errors—govern behavior and perception. Additionally, the role of prediction error in the emergence of emotions and decision-making was discussed using concepts such as the coordination between emotions and the body and processing fluency.
(Authorship: Wanwan Zheng, Humanity Center for Anthropocenic Actors and Agency

On July 6, 2024, the fourth Meeting for Theories Group was held at the Humanity Center for Anthropocenic Actors and Agency, Nagoya University.

Yasuko Nakamura visualized changes in topics within Freud’s texts using a structural topic model. Focusing in particular on “Traum” (dream), which emerges as a central topic in the middle period, and “Witz” (wit), which becomes central in the later period, he introduced Freud’s theory of humor.

During the Q&A session, discussion addressed how qualitative research should be positioned in relation to quantitative research in studies that examine an author’s intellectual development. The significance of quantitative research as a means to confirm the validity of research was reaffirmed.

Wanwan Zheng introduced an attempt to introduce word familiarity as an indicator for estimating vocabulary difficulty. Unlike word frequency, word familiarity is a subjective indicator dependent on the user’s actual experience. It is expected to estimate vocabulary difficulty with higher accuracy compared to using frequency alone.　

During the Q&A session, the following topics were raised: how the indicator of familiarity functions when comparing the difficulty of dialects and synonyms, and how the age of a word relates to its difficulty and familiarity.

Reiji Suzuki reported on an attempt to treat language evolutionarily through a linguistic ecological game. In this game, agents equipped with language compete, and using a language model, the winner replaces the weaker agent based on specific parameters, further mutating words with a lower probability. Subsequently, he raised questions about the potential for text mining applications of this ecological game.

During the Q&A session, it was pointed out that the emergence of advanced AI agents could prompt a reconsideration of the concept of humanity, drawing examples such as psychological research using generative models as subjects instead of humans achieving some success at the mass level. The potential application of language models to psychological research was then discussed.

Toru Ohira focused on the observation that simply introducing delayed coupling between two equations while maintaining the same values produces significantly larger oscillations compared to when the two equations are independent, and reported on an attempt to describe rhythms and structures generated by group interactions using delay differential equations.

During the Q&A session, the originality of the research was emphasized: while conventional models without delay could only describe phenomena that continue to amplify and diverge infinitely, delay differential equations are controllable models that can generate very large oscillations from weak signals.

Shinhaeng Kim examined Michel Callon’s work, which developed Actor-Network Theory (ANT) from a perspective different from Latour’s, including economic aspects in the development of technological innovation. Based on Callon’s proposal of the Techno-Economic Network (TEN) concept—where actors, including mediating objects, constitute networks through various forms of translation—Professor Kim explored the applicability of ANT.　

During the Q&A session, discussion focused on the issue of human decentering. Topics included the merits and demerits of whether human evaluation can be excluded from the translation process in ANT-based descriptions, and the question of whether non-human actors could become the primary agents of information output (text production) in the present day.

Tetsuki Tamura examined Latour’s argument distinguishing between “political bodies” and “collectives, reconsidering concepts of politics and democracy based on ANT. He also discussed the democratic and non-democratic aspects of artificial intelligence, exploring how to suppress the latter while utilizing the former.

During the Q&A session, topics such as what democratic political participation is from perspectives of equality, diversity, and neutrality were raised, using examples like the selection of representatives through random lottery and the political participation of AI agents.

Shu Hirata reported on attempts to apply Latour’s ANT to urban studies. Drawing on Neil Brenner’s critical examination of ANT’s role not as a replacement for traditional sociology but as a complement, he explored the effectiveness of ANT through its articulation with political economy and its ontological limitations.

During the Q&A session, differences in perspective between Brenner’s position and the ANT position were pointed out, and the validity of Brenner’s critique was examined. Discussions also addressed whether ANT can examine equality not only among humans but also among actors including non-human entities, and how to interpret the qualitative differences in equality in such cases.

(Authorship: Ayane Hayanagi,2nd-year Master’s student, Graduate School of Humanities, Osaka University)

On December 27, 2023, the third Meeting for Theories Group was held at the Humanity Center for Anthropocenic Actors and Agency, Nagoya University.

Yasuko Nakamura introduced a practical application of sentiment analysis to the original German text of Rainer Maria Rilke’s novel The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge. Through this case, she demonstrated the potential of sentiment analysis as a method for the study of literary works. She also reported on the plans and current progress of a collaborative research project with Professor Zheng, which further develops this research.

Wanwan Zheng presented her research framework, proposing a new model for feature selection that extracts effective variables for data analysis, with the aim of improving both interpretability and practical applicability. She also outlined the construction of a new indicator for measuring lexical richness, which integrates three dimensions: lexical diversity, lexical density (the proportion of content words), and lexical sophistication (the use of advanced vocabulary). In addition, as a practical application of sentiment analysis, she reported on a study comparing official sentiment scores on economic conditions (based on human evaluations) with sentiment scores generated by existing large language models as well as by a newly developed model.

Reiji Suzuki reported on a practice that quantified the degree of positivity and negativity in social media posts during the Japan Series between the Hanshin Tigers and Orix Buffaloes using sentiment analysis, and further made it audible through music generation using ChatGPT and MusicGen. Additionally, presentations addressed approaches that incorporate complex, higher-order characteristics—such as personality and preferences underlying human behavior, which are difficult to directly model mathematically—by linking natural language expressions to behavioral strategies using large language models. Other presentations explored attempts to utilize generative models for expressing cultural traits and their evolution.

Kenta Ohira and Toru Ohira proposed a delayed differential equation to express the resonance phenomenon arising from delayed self-feedback and introduced the behavior of its solutions. Furthermore, using the Lotka-Volterra equations representing a predator-prey model as an example, they demonstrated that periodic fluctuations in the populations of predators (lynx) and prey (hare) occur even without a clock function. They then introduced time and delay into this system to attempt to express the interaction between the two species.

Shinhaeng Kim introduced H. Mialet’s paper “Hawking Inc.,” which analyzes the knowledge production process centered on British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. By identifying the actors involved in knowledge production, he examined the role of humans—a question posed by AI technology—and discussed how ANT could play a role within STS, which has relativized the process of knowledge production in science.

Tetsuki Tamura discussed the possibilities of how democracy can continue to be ‘democracy’ in the information society. He introduced the concept of AI democracy, accepting critiques regarding the dangers of authoritarianism and tendencies toward human exclusion. Focusing on three elements—inclusivity, representation, and decisiveness—he analyzed its democratic and non-democratic characteristics.

Shu Hirata focused on the establishment of the term “emotion” as a scientific concept in contrast to ‘passion’ as a theological concept, and analyzed the interactive development between the concept of emotion and society. He also reported on trends in contemporary French research on emotion, and introduced Achille Mbembe’s paper “La communauté terrestre,” which explores the relationship between humans and the Earth from the perspective of African animism.

At the third meeting, it was confirmed that research had progressed by further strengthening collaboration across different field based on the insights shared at the second meeting. During the Q&A sessions following each presentation, discussions focused on more concrete and active plans for collaborative research.
(Authorship: Ayane Hayanagi, 1st-year Master’s student, Graduate School of Humanities, Osaka University)

On July 1, 2023, the second Meeting for Theories Group was held in Room 128 of the Lecture Building, Faculty of Letters, Nagoya University.

Zheng Wanwan presented on “A Label Noise Detection Method Using Shadow Data.” Against the backdrop of modern information processing devices enabling the collection of vast amounts of data across diverse fields, she introduced the latest noise detection techniques she is currently developing. She also demonstrated new possibilities for text studies brought about by the development of distributed representations in natural language processing.

Kim Shinhaeng’s presentation, titled “Early Actor-Network Theory and Text Analysis,” provided an explanation of the context of intellectual history of Mapping the Dynamics of Science and Technology, edited by researchers Michel Callon, John Law, and Arie Rip. Building on this, he explained the focal points of ANT-based qualitative text analysis in science and technology studies, as well as developments in quantitative text analysis.

Reiji Suzuki presented on “Lenia in a petri dish: Interactions between organisms and their environment in a Lenia with growth based on resource consumption,” exploring the dynamics of interactions between environment and organisms through simulation. By introducing resource channels and resource consumption/recovery dynamics into the Lenia organism’s kernel (local density accumulation function) and growth function to add environmental conditions, he demonstrated an interaction model between Lenia organisms and their resource environment based on bottom-up rules.

Tetsuki Tamura presented on “Deliberative Marriage,” outlining its concrete form as a type of “democratic marriage.” He also suggested new possibilities for the boundaries of marriage based on deliberation, contrasting with traditional conceptions of marriage. Building on feminist/gender theory perspectives on marriage, a lively discussion ensued regarding the element of “deliberation,” which has been overlooked in these frameworks.

Kenta Ohira gave a presentation titled “Delay and Resonance 2,” using differential equations incorporating self-feedback delay to describe resonance phenomena where specific rhythms (periods/frequencies) appear maximized. By adding an exponential factor to the equation proposed in his previous presentation, he demonstrated a more complex formula capable of capturing, to some extent, the behavior of solutions to delay differential equations—a task generally considered difficult.

Tohru Ohira presented “Stochastic Independence and Correlation: Classical and Quantum,” highlighting the differences between classical probability and quantum mechanics (e.g., criteria for indicating relationships between things) and similarities (e.g., the necessity of viewing the whole beyond individual instances). He presented examples where “unexpected” phenomena in classical systems, particularly in probability, become the “common sense” in quantum systems. He explored the boundary between classical and quantum systems and its development.

Shu Hirata presented on “The Epistemology of Sociology and Socialism,” introducing the research of Karsenti (1966-) who examines the transformation of philosophical inquiry through the birth of sociology. In the first half of the presentation, he provided an overview of the development of sociological epistemology in modern France from Saint-Simon (1760-1825) to Latour (1947-2022), and in the second half, he explained the redefinition of socialism (as a reaction to the excessive productivism and competition of liberalism through exclusionary nationalism, and further as socialism as a counter-reaction to both).

In her presentation titled “The Spinoza Controversy (Pantheism Controversy),” Based on Yasushi Kato’s Spinoza and Modern Germany: The Phantom Axis of Intellectual History (Iwanami Shoten, 2022), Yasuko Nakamura traced the enormous influence that Spinoza’s philosophy, which was considered dangerous as atheistic, had on the intellectual history of modern Germany, while also introducing the history of opposition to and acceptance with Spinoza’s pantheism.

Following each presentation, lively discussions took place during the Q&A sessions, exploring the connections between the respective research themes and the potential for interdisciplinary development across different fields.
(Authorship: Ayane Hayanagi, 1st-year Master’s student, Graduate School of Humanities, Osaka University)

In addition to the members of the Theories (Group 1), professors representing each group gathered for an expanded meeting. While coordinating perspectives on the future group meeting procedures, progress reports on research were presented by Shinhaeng Kim, Reiji Suzuki, and Tetsuki Tamura, members of the Theories Group.

When members from different areas of expertise come together, research content can be examined from multiple perspectives. For example, in Professor Kim’s presentation, he referred to Latour’s redefinition of society not as “social connections” but as a “assemblage of humans and non-humans.”: specifically, whether non-humans possess political capacity or are merely “regarded as” possessing it. If we were to substitute non-humans with AI robots, the Group 3 is exploring the possibility that such capabilities exist. On the other hand, if non-human entities are replaced with other objects, would the generalizability change?

Incorporating these many perspectives, research in each subgroup is progressing steadily.
(Authorship: Tatsuro Ayatsuka)

[Research Presentaions]

Shinhaeng Kim: “Proposal of the Terrestrial Concept by Bruno Latour and the Formation of Critical Consensus”

Reiji Suzuki: “Modeling and Experimental Approaches to the Formation and Collapse of Social Groups”

Tetsuki Tamura: “What Are the Challenges of Democracy in the Anthropocene?”

In Session 3 of 7th General Research Meeting, we were honored to have Professor Emanuele Castano from the University of Florence, and the following is a report on his lecture.

【Beyond Genes and Parents: The Effects of Cultural Products on Human PsychologyーEmanuele Castano】

🌟Report

“What on earth is the other person thinking?”

We rely on every piece of information—words, expressions, gestures, and the context up to that point—to communicate and understand each other. This ability is essential for living in groups, and we gradually acquire it through various experiences. So, what specifically influences the development of this ability?

“Fiction is a gym for social cognition”

This research idea proposed by Professor Castano may offer one possible answer to that question. There are many forms of “fiction,” but let us focus on novels. Furthermore, we can divide novels into literary fiction and popular fiction.In empirical research, people who read literary fiction frequently demonstrated higher ability to infer others’ mental states compared to those who read popular fiction, through several tests including the “Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test.” In literary fiction, compared to popular fiction, there is a tendency to depict complex relationships between characters and provide detailed psychological portrayals of each character. While it certainly offers substantial reading value and may require a higher level of effort to read, it might serve as a “gym” for training one’s ability to infer others’ psychological states.

It’s important to note that this research does not judge the quality of literary fiction versus popular fiction. Popular fiction also plays a very important role in literature, as it creates empathy and comfort through its use of familiar expressions and standardized narrative structures.
(Authorship: Tatsuro Ayatsuka)

🌟Minutes

The lecture focused on the role of cultural products in shaping the human mind, alongside genetics and upbringing. He emphasized that cultural products influence not only “what we think” but also “how we think,” and in particular, the differing effects of literary fiction and popular fiction were discussed empirically through a comparative analysis.

The background is that human social cognition—the ability to understand others’ emotions and thought and interpret the social world—is essential for maintaining social life and cultural communities. Professor Castano proposed that cultural products can be distinguished as either Confirming or Challenging. He particularly noted that literary fiction possesses a “challenging” character and has the potential to promote social cognition. Conversely, he hypothesized that popular fiction has a “confirming” character and serves to provide readers with reassurance.

In experimental studies, participants were randomly assigned to reading groups such as literary fiction, popular fiction, and nonfiction, and evaluated comparatively using several tasks including the “Author Recognition Test” and social cognition tasks like the “Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test.” The results showed that participants reading literary fiction scored significantly higher in social cognition, particularly in the ability to infer others’ mental states (Theory of Mind). In contrast, no similar effect was observed for popular fiction, suggesting its primary role lies in providing entertainment and comfort. Furthermore, surveys conducted across multiple cultures confirmed that this tendency is universal.

In the discussion, it was emphasized that literary fiction stimulates readers’ “imagination,” prompting them to fill in narrative gaps and thereby fostering complex understanding of others. This enables readers to acquire diverse perspectives beyond mere empathy, developing their ability to comprehend intricate social situations. Conversely, it was argued that popular fiction generates empathy and reassurance through familiar expressions and formulaic narrative structures, but its effect on enhancing social cognition is limited.

This lecture demonstrated how cultural products affect the human mind differently through the comparison of literary fiction and popular fiction. Literary fiction possesses a challenging character and functions to cultivate empathy and complex social cognition. Conversely, popular fiction has a confirming character, contributing to the psychological stability of communities through comfort and entertainment. It was concluded that the two are not in opposition; instead, each plays a distinctive role in shaping the psychological foundations of human society.
(Authorship: Wanwan Zheng, Humanity Center for Anthropocenic Actors and Agency, Graduate School of Humanities, Nagoya University)

🌟Q&A session

Question 1 (Prof. Nakamura):
For example, in the first edition of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, descriptions such as “he did this” and “she did that” are found, focusing solely on actions, with no depiction of the thoughts behind the actions. In contrast, by the seventh edition published several decades later, additions were made to include psychological descriptions like “He thought this at that moment, so he…,” not only showing actions but also thoughts and mental states. Historically, the tendency to explain human actions became more common, especially from the late 18th century to the early 19th century. From a historical perspective, how do you view this shift from “showing” to “telling”?

Answer:
That is a very sharp and insightful question. I was not aware of such changes in Grimm’s Fairy Tales, so I do not have much to say specifically about this transformation. However, your question reminds me of an experiment conducted in the 1990s from the perspective of developmental psychology, which examined the effects of reading materials on children.

In this experiment, elementary school students read ten picture books for more than two months. Half of the participants read books that included words describing psychological states like thoughts and emotions, while the other half read booksin which such words had been removed. For example, in the book about the fox and the chicken, the chicken is drawn wandering around, unaware of the approaching fox. The original picture book contains expressions like “the chicken turned around and… thought.” However, in the adjusted version, words indicating psychological states, such as “thought,” are removed.

It has already been shown that children whose parents frequently use words expressing emotions tend to acquire such vocabulary earlier. Therefore, the researchers who conducted the experiment wanted to observe how the act of reading influences children’s (around five years old) acquisition of vocabulary related to psychological states. Interestingly, the group of children who read the original picture books showed improvement in their ability to recognize the meanings of words expressing emotions. On the other hand, the group of children who read books without words describing psychological states performed better on tests assessing thinking and problem-solving skills.

For picture books read by children around five or six years old, the distinction between literary fiction and popular fiction is meaningless. However, some elements, such as vocabulary expressing emotions, can be said to be common to both. For very young children, such vocabulary needs to be explicitly presented. Without input, children simply cannot acquire those words nor can they express themselves. However, once they reach a certain stage, it is also important to consciously withhold such vocabulary and allow children to recognize the association between emotions and corresponding words based on their own judgment. Therefore, I believe both the original and the versions in which emotional vocabulary is omitted, as used in the earlier experiment, are necessary for children from 0 to 8 years old.

Question 2(Prof. Nakamura):
Literary fiction not only has a complex structure but often expresses negative emotions, as shown in the figure introduced in your presentation. This can potentially increase the stress felt by readers. Therefore, while children around seven or eight years old may be reluctant to read so-called literary works, I believe that individual development is fundamentally necessary for children to want to read literary fiction.

Answer:
The concept I am envisioning is that a kind of parallel system is important when telling stories to children. As I briefly mentioned in the first question, children need to read both fiction that directly includes words representing psychological states and fiction that does not. The former helps children acquire the meanings of the words themselves, while the latter encourages them to actively identify the connection between words and emotions. Therefore, I cannot give a clear answer on whether children should first develop psychologically before starting to read literary works, or whether reading literature leads to their development.

Adults already possess the ability to read emotions, so they do not lose this skill without training by reading literary fiction ( of course, it may become less sharp). However, regarding children, literary fiction that does not directly depict psychological states and emotions certainly trains their ability to read emotions, but this only happens after they have acquired the basic vocabulary to express those emotions. Drawing from my personal parenting experience, it’s fine to read the exact same story to a young child many times. But as they grow , they quickly get bored with the same story. Stories aimed at three-year-olds are always predictable. Many teachers here will understand this if they recall their own experiences. When you change just a few words in the same story for a child around three years old, they get upset right away. “No, that’s not the story!” they’ll say. But once they pass a certain age, if the story’s progression is too flat or predictable, children quickly lose interest. In other words, they start seeking interpretive possibilities or freedom in the story. Of course, the demand for predictable stories hasn’t disappeared entirely, as they still offer confirmation of established concepts. But it is natural that a demand for freedom has emerged.

Among adults too, there are those who read only literary fiction and those who read only popular fiction. This difference could be seen as a choice between seeking certainty in a work or seeking uncertainty. Most adults have acquired the vocabulary to describe psychological states, and adults can practice reading emotions and judging their type without relying on the written word. For example, even in today’s lecture, my ability was being trained, as I had to observe your expressions to understand whether my explanations were clear. Therefore, literature and films are by no means the only ways to train the ability to identify emotions. However, for children, an opportunity to acquire this ability without feedback from incorrect answers is indeed reading, especially reading fairy tales unfolding in a protected environment. Even if they feel fear or sadness, those are events in the fictional world and have no impact on the real world.

Therefore, acquiring vocabulary that expresses psychological states and identifying or describing one’s own psychological states can be said to be somewhat contradictory. To use a gym analogy, no matter how much you do basic training, you won’t build muscle, but it is also impossible to skip basic training and jump straight into advanced workouts. Returning to the beginning, I argue that constructing a parallel system is something that should be kept in mind when having children read literature.

Question 1 (Assoc. Prof. Beauvieux):
Regarding the impact of literary works on readers’ cognitive capabilities, does the distinction between whether a work is based on fact or fictional have any relevance to the impact itself?

Answer:
In my view, there is no such connection. In this presentation, I emphasized the distinction between pure literature and popular literature because I would like to discuss the linguistic structure of the works and the differences in vocabulary and their effects. Whether the work itself is based on a true story does not affect these elements. However, if the structure or writing style of the work causes readers to make different judgments internally regarding whether it is based on a true story, it is necessary to examine which parts of the work produced such differing judgments.

Question 2 (Assoc. Prof. Beauvieux):
You mentioned in your lecture that “unpredictability” is one of the important indicators for distinguishing pure fiction from popular fiction. For example, when reading popular fiction from another country, it might be easily predictable for people from that country, but foreign readers, due to differences in cultural background, may sometimes feel that they cannot predict what comes next. In that case, can unpredictability be considered a valid criterion?

Answer:
To rephrase what you just said, for people belonging to each culture, there exist several narrative models specific to that culture. When reading stories based on models from other cultures (though I believe the differences are only partial), it becomes difficult to predict what will happen. Therefore, for me, the first step is to understand how different these two models are. For example, in my research, I ask participants to read fiction, but before measuring their emotional abilities, I first ask them to evaluate the characters. When conducting experiments to examine this issue, if non-Japanese participants (e.g., French) find it difficult to predict characters in literary fiction by Japanese authors, I separately collect data on whether Japanese readers give the same responses. The same characters might be predictable for Japanese readers, but this only shows us that “literary fiction” and “popular fiction” are merely labels. We must acknowledge both universal aspects and the existence of cultural exceptions.

Question 3 (Assoc. Prof. Beauvieux):
The first-person “I” in poetry becomes a more universal “I,” rather than an individual within a specific society or environment. Therefore, could reading poetry also serve as training in the ability to identify emotions? If it can, can we distinguish differences in effect between literary fiction and popular fiction?

Answer:
I once reviewed a paper written by a Japanese scholar, which was a study on haiku and Noh—a complex art form using masks to express exaggerated emotions. Poetry is a shorter, more expressive form that can better evoke anxiety and uncertainty. So, it can be considered to have effects similar to literary fiction. However, the time spent reading a single poem is so short that it is still unclear how much reading affects one’s ability to identify or express emotions. Furthermore, some poems clearly belong to popular fiction in terms of structure and vocabulary. In any case, I believe there are still some difficulties in handling poetry in experimental research.
Authorship: Yiqun Xiao, Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University

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.