OUTLINE

Greetings from the Principal Investigator

Although the importance of cross-disciplinary research has long been recognized, we still don't have a clear answer to the fundamental question, "What is a human being? Recent advances in scientific research on ancient genomes and paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic changes have revealed much about the birth and migration of Homo sapiens and their adaptation to the environment. On the other hand, the co-creation relationship between humans and things has been under-researched worldwide, although it is essential for analyzing human evolution, social transformation, and our future. This ambitious research field aims to elucidate the mechanisms of the intertwining of environmental construction by humans and changes in human cognition, body, and behavior through trans-disciplinary joint research that transcends the boundaries of the humanities and sciences and to propose a new model for understanding where humanity came from and where it is going in an integrated manner.

This fusion of humanities and sciences we are aiming for is not simply a collaboration of researchers in the humanities and sciences or a "scientificization" of the humanities by incorporating scientific techniques and methods. By incorporating humanities concepts and logic into science-related fields, we are attempting to fundamentally change the structure of academic knowledge.

Science and technology alone cannot achieve solutions to environmental destruction, war, poverty, gender inequality, and climate change. Researchers involved in technological development also need to be infused with "knowledge" from the humanities and social sciences, and we believe that the "Materia-Mind," which we advocate as a new concept, can significantly contribute to this end.

Naoko Matsumoto

Professor
Director, Research Institute for the Dynamics of Civilizations

Outline of the Research

With large and complex social organizations, advanced science and technology, and a variety of religious beliefs, including world religions, the formation of civilizations is among the qualities unique to humans. The changes seen are expanding qualitatively and quantitatively even now. To understand why this human-specific evolution occurred and how we got to where we are today, we must clarify how our civilizations developed. In other words, we need to understand how, after the appearance of Homo sapiens, the long period of nomadic hunter-gatherer life gave way to settled life and eventually led to the development of a complex society supported by various artificial tools and environments. To this end, it is necessary to understand that mind and material are inseparably linked and to clarify the process and mechanism of the “co-creation of mind and material” unique to humans, in which humans create objects and objects create humans.

This research area aims to elucidate the mechanism of the intertwining of human niche construction and changes in human cognition, body, and behavior through transdisciplinary joint research that transcends the boundaries of the humanities and sciences and to present a new model for understanding humankind’s past and future in an integrated manner.

From “Out of Eurasia” to “Miteria-Mind”

In the preceding project, “Out of Eurasia,” we conducted comparative and interdisciplinary research on the civilizations that developed independently by groups that left Eurasia and expanded into the Japanese archipelago, the Americas, and Oceania. The “Materia-Mind” project will further develop the leading-edge aspects of these results to clarify the mechanism by which the mind develops in tandem with the objects produced by humans.

Collaboration of six research groups

Collaborative research by six research groups.

How material culture has created the human body, brain, and mind

Focusing on the role played by objects (material culture) in human history, we will clarify the process and mechanism of “material mind co-creation.”　The result will help to deepen our understanding of the nature of human evolution.

Penetration of humanities knowledge into science (transformation of the academic knowledge structure)

The solutions to the environmental destruction, wars, poverty, and gender inequality that we are currently facing cannot be achieved through scientific and technological advances alone. Researchers involved in technological development must also be infused with “knowledge” from the humanities and social sciences. This new concept of “material mind” from joint humanities-science research will contribute to this goal.

Proposal of a new evolutionary model

We propose a new cultural evolutionary model combining genes, neurophysiology, cognition, behavior, and society.