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Hiroaki
Niki |
Neurobiology
of Emotion Team
Team Leader |
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Japanese Logic and Western Logic
If I had to choose
between inductive and deductive logic, I would rather prefer inductive because
it involves citing various kinds of circumstantial evidence. I have not grown
accustomed to deductive logic, in which the hypothesis and conclusion are stated
first, and then the reasons supporting it are stated. However, in presenting research
results, I must not dwell on my own preferences- especially for articles for publication
and for presentations at professional conferences where there are limitations
on length in page and time and as a result I often employ deductive logic.
Perhaps this tendency of mine is attributable to the fact that I first encountered
inductive logic in junior high school with geometrical formal proofs. This kind
of logical thinking was easily accepted as a junior high school boy. In fact,
at the school I attended, students were assigned geometry problems every time
after the lesson as homework in the first year. My first encounter with deductive
logic was much later, in high school, when, in chemistry laboratory sessions,
we had to determine the names of organic compounds inside test tubes.
Or, perhaps my weakness in deductive logic stems from a cultural background or
life style that leads me to hesitate presenting conclusions beforehand and then
describing circumstantial evidence. Inductive logic is typical of Japanese people
(Japanese logic), whereas logic seems to be more common in Western educated people
(Western logic).
The
fourth seat of government: Education and Research
The days and months pass quickly. It is now some 30 years since my teacher/mentor,
Dr. Toshihiko Tokizane (Professor Emeritus Tokyo University; Former Director of
the Brain Research Institute, Tokyo University; Former Professor, Primate Research
Institute, Kyoto University) -who devoted himself to the development of brain
research in Japan and who made great contributions in this field- passed away.
Perhaps current events in Japan remind me what Dr. Tokizane suggested : education/research
be established as a fourth power, a body that is independent of the other three
governing bodies -|the executive, legislative, and judicial seats of government.
I think his notion rests in the fact that the government's approach to education
changes frequently according to the political and economic conditions and the
attitudes of those in power. For example, when I was working at the University,
members of the Educational Committee of the House of Councilors were meddling
with the entrance examination system and problems with entrance examinations.
More recently, we have seen problems arise with the transformation of universities
and institutes into independent administrative entities. Today I recall the remarks
that Dr. Tokizane made in passing more than 30 years ago about the establishment
of a fourth power. |
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