A new selection of writings on education by Buddhist philosopher and founder of Soka University, Daisaku Ikeda. Culled from some five decades of the author's works, this collection presents educational proposals, lectures to university students, and personal essays. The author delves not only into the meaning of Soka (value-creating) education but offers a hopeful vision of the power of education to bring happiness to the individual and peace to the world.

La réception d’Adam Smith au Japon est l’occasion d’expériences variées de comparaison internationale et interdisciplinaire. Smith paraît ce que l’on pourrait déjà nommer un « philosophe-économiste » tout en étant regardé comme « l’économiste par excellence » et, au Japon aussi, le « professeur de tous les économistes ». Il continue d’y être considéré comme un représentant du libéralisme économique, ce qui prête à des erreurs et des errances que cet essai entend dénoncer. L’objet principal de ce texte est de (...) présenter comment la doctrine smithienne a été conceptualisée au Japon sur les plans historique, social et intellectuel : ce n’est pas seulement la réception de sa théorie économique, mais aussi la relation à sa philosophie qui est questionnée. (shrink)

A New Way Forward is a compilation of seven university lectures that Daisaku Ikeda, the Soka Gakkai International president, gave in the United States, one in 1974 and the others in the 1990s. The earliest from April 1974 when Mr. Ikeda spoke at the invitation of the University of California, Los Angeles, about positive steps that can be taken to begin the twenty-first century in peace and with confidence in the future. Daisaku Ikeda's Buddhist faith and his (...) enduring wish for peace and a better world prevailed as he accepted each invitation to speak. He cherished the chance to share his beliefs and ideas with others. Each time as he finished a lecture, he felt a sense of fulfillment in having been able to convey a portion of his thoughts, and his confidence grew as he pursued each new creative challenge. It is Daisaku Ikeda's hope that the proposals for peace, observations on history, and views of education and arts offered in the pages would have a positive effect on the thinking and life of the reader, in some way or other. (shrink)

Children will appreciate the conversational tone of this collection of personal essays written just for them by one of world's great philosophers, Daisaku Ikeda. "Let's begin our talk," he writes, "as if we were strolling together under clear blue skies." The author's love, respect and high hopes for boys and girls fill every page. At every turn, children will be inspired to think about life and their role in the world in ways, perhaps, they've never thought of before. As (...) a man of peace himself, Mr. Ikeda sees children as the successors in bringing justice, kindness, and happiness to people everywhere. And he challenges children to take always try hard and develop themselves--each in their own unique way--so that they can live lives of true fulfillment. Drawing on episodes from the author's life, from great literature, and from Buddhist stories, these essays touch on a variety of topics, such as appreciation, the arts, adventure, courage, history, responsibility. No matter the topic, the overall message comes through: your life is precious, never lose hope, accomplish great things. (shrink)

A new selection of writings on education by Buddhist philosopher and founder of Soka University, Daisaku Ikeda. Culled from some five decades of the author's works, this collection presents educational proposals, lectures to university students, and personal essays. The author delves not only into the meaning of Soka (value-creating) education but offers a hopeful vision of the power of education to bring happiness to the individual and peace to the world.

_Dynamics of the Mixed Economy_ applies the insights of modern Austrian political economy to examine economic policy in mixed economies. It compares and contrasts standard approaches to the growth of the state with that of modern Austrian political economy; examines in detail the nature and operation of the interventionist process in the context of nationalization, regulation and the welfare state; analyzes conditions that produce instability under laissez-faire capitalism; argues that the interventionist process is a 'spontaneous order'; and offers several 'pattern (...) predictions' regarding the character and behaviour of really existing economies. (shrink)

A theory T is called almost [MATHEMATICAL SCRIPT CAPITAL N]0-categorical if for any pure types p1,…,pn there are only finitely many pure types which extend p1 ∪…∪pn. It is shown that if T is an almost [MATHEMATICAL SCRIPT CAPITAL N]0-categorical theory with I = 3, then a dense linear ordering is interpretable in T.

Let L be a finite relational language and α=(αR:R ∈ L) a tuple with 0 < αR ≤1 for each R ∈ L. Consider a dimension function $ \delta _\alpha (A) = \left| A \right| - \sum\limits_{R \in L} {\alpha {\mathop{\rm Re}\nolimits} R(A)} $ where each eR(A) is the number of realizations of R in A. Let $K_\alpha $ be the class of finite structures A such that $\delta _\alpha (X) \ge 0$ 0 for any substructure X of A. We (...) show that the theory of the generic model of $K_\alpha $ is AE-axiomatizable for any α. (shrink)

This proposal introduces a novel decision-making framework to advance safe economic activities in cyberspace. We focus on identifying anomalies within crypto-asset trading, recognized as potential sources of criminal activity, severely undermining the credibility of such assets. Detecting and mitigating such anomalies holds significant societal implications, particularly in fostering trust within blockchain networks. We aim to bolster the “social trust” inherent to blockchain technology by facilitating informed economic activities in cyberspace. To achieve this, we propose integrating two artificial intelligence (AI) systems (...) into a blockchain-based decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The first AI application involves amalgamating various anomaly indicators, spanning from cluster coefficient, entropy, triangular motif analysis, correlation tensor analysis, loop component by Hodge decomposition, loop causality detection, network classification using graph Laplacian, and persistent homology analysis, into a comprehensive indicator using a Boltzmann machine. The second AI application entails deploying conversational AI to guide and support traders, aiding them in making informed trading decisions. This system is designed to alert DAO members to anomalies based on the integrated indicators, especially during massive price fluctuations. We operate under the assumption of close collaboration between governments, experts, traders, system developers, and operators to effectively organize DAOs. The primary technical challenge in our proposal lies in developing a wallet assisted by an intelligent software agent capable of safe interactions with traders within a unified DAO. With this organization, we envision fostering a global economic ecosystem where physical and cyber worlds converge, allowing democratic economic participation. (shrink)

Recent social theory has identified various institutional forces operating at a global level promoting novel trends towards “individualization”, “reflexive self-identity” and “new individualism” (Beck and Beck-Gernsheim, 2001; Giddens, 1991, 1992; Elliott and Lemert, 2009, 2009a). This article develops an exploratory overview of the theory of new individualism with reference to Japanese sociologies of self specifically and contemporary Japanese society more generally. Detailing the large-scale societal shift in Japan from traditional forms of identity-construction (based on a citizenship model of social order) (...) to post-traditional forms of identity-construction (promoted by globalization and neoliberal policies), the article distinguishes between four discourses of the self in post-war Japanese society: the age of the ideal; the age of the dream; the age of fiction; and, the age of fragmentation. Moreover, the article examines the Japanese employment system and the emergence of new individualist employment, as well as considering the emotional impacts of a rise in suicides in contemporary Japan. The argument is that the new individualist thesis can contribute to a sociological understanding of recent social transformations in Japan. However, situating new individualism in the context of Japan also highlights significant tensions in processes of new individualism, tensions between individual initiatives and institutional pressures. (shrink)

An infinite structure is said to be minimal if each of its definable subset is finite or cofinite. Modifying Hrushovski's method we construct minimal, non strongly minimal structures with arbitrary finite dimensions. This answers negatively to a problem posed by B. I Zilber.

In this paper, we investigate definable models of Peano Arithmetic PA in a model of PA. For any definable model N without parameters in a model M, we show that N is isomorphic to M if M is elementary extension of the standard model and N is elementarily equivalent to M. On the other hand, we show that there is a model M and a definable model N with parameters in M such that N is elementarily equivalent to M but (...) N is not isomorphic to M. We also show that there is a model M and a definable model N with parameters in M such that N is elementarily equivalent to M, and N is isomorphic to M, but N is not definably isomorphic to M. And also, we give a generalization of Tennenbaum's theorem. At the end, we give a new method to construct a definable model by a refinement of Kotlarski's method. (shrink)

A partial map f of a structure M is called almost total if |M — dom| = |M — ran| < ω. We study a difference between an almost total elementary map and an automorphism.

Uma característica distintiva das sociedades da modernidade tardia é a extensão significativa a qual estas são dependentes do conhecimento para seu funcionamento. Contrário a como o conhecimento era visto nas sociedades pré-modernas, o conhecimento agora tende a ser entendido como informação, isto é, consistindo em representações objetificadas, mercantilizadas, abstratas e descontextualizadas. A superabundância de informação na modernidade tardia torna a sociedade da informação cheia de tentações. Isso nos leva a pensar que o conhecimento como informação é objetivo e existe independentemente (...) dos seres humanos; que tudo pode ser reduzido à informação; e que a geração de quantidades cada vez maiores de informações aumentará a transparência da sociedade e, portanto, levará ao gerenciamento racional de problemas sociais. No entanto, como discutido neste artigo, a sociedade da informação está repleta de paradoxos que a impedem de satisfazer as tentações que cria. Mais informações podem levar a menos compreensão; mais informações podem enfraquecer a confiança; e mais informações podem tornar a sociedade menos racionalmente governável. Essas reivindicações são ilustradas com exemplos do Reino Unido e dos Estados Unidos. (shrink)

The great urbanist Jane Jacobs details how urban planning impacts the social interactions and social networks responsible for the economic death or life of a city. How might urban planning impinge on the moral values that underlie that development? I draw on Jacobs’s work on the moral foundations of commercial society to identify two “urban values” (tolerance and innovation). I then examine how these values support the social networks and processes that facilitate urban-based innovation and how urban planning can strengthen (...) or undermine those values. I use the examples of urban planning in the 15th Ward of Syracuse, New York and of city building in the private development of Cayalá in Guatemala City to illustrate these points. (shrink)

Cet article cherche à examiner la thèse fondamentale de Neue Phänomenologie in Frankreich, selon laquelle la spécificité du mouvement phénoménologique récent en France consisterait à décrire le « phénomène phénoménologique » d’une nouvelle manière et précisément selon son « événementialité ». À cette fin, il ne suffit pas simplement de reconstruire ou de résumer cette thèse telle qu’elle est exposée dans l’ouvrage, mais il est également nécessaire de construire de manière progressive le concept général d’événement et celui de « phénomène (...) phénoménologique » conçu selon son événementialité. Cette étude essaie de répondre aux trois questions suivantes : qu’est-ce que la « nouvelle phénoménologie en France » ; qu’entend-t-on couramment par « événement »? ; comment cette transformation du concept phénoménologique de phénomène motive-t-elle une réorganisation remarquable de sa méthode, à laquelle Janicaud a reproché d’être un « tournant théologique »? (shrink)

Job-shop Scheduling Problem (JSP) is one of the most difficult benchmark problems. GA approaches often fail searching the global optimum because of the deception UV-structure of JSPs. In this paper, we introduce a novel framework model of GA, Innately Split Model (ISM) which prevents UV-phenomenon, and discuss on its power particularly. Next we analyze the structure of JSPs with the help of the UV-structure hypothesys, and finally we show ISM's excellent performance on JSP.

Genetic Algorithms(GAs) are effective approximation algorithms which focus on “hopeful area” in the searching process. However, in harder problems, it is often very difficult to maintain a favorable trade-off between exploitation and exploration. All individuals leave the big-valley including the global optimum, and concentrate on another big-valley including a local optimum often. In this paper, we define such a situation on conventional GAs as the “UV-phenomenon”, and suggest UV-structures as hard landscape structures that will cause the UV-phenomenon. We introduce a (...) test function which has explicit UV-structures, and show UV-phenomenon caused by them. Next we analyze Fletcher and Powell function to confirm our hypothesis. Finally we propose a novel framework of GAs which can cope with UV-structures. (shrink)

Humans can pronounce a nonword. Some researchers have interpreted this behavior as requiring a sequential mechanism by which a grapheme-phoneme correspondence rule is applied to each grapheme in turn. However, several parallel-distributed processing models in English have simulated human nonword reading accuracy without a sequential mechanism. Interestingly, the Japanese psycholinguistic literature went partly in the same direction, but it has since concluded that a sequential parsing mechanism is required to reproduce human nonword reading accuracy. In this study, by manipulating the (...) list composition, we demonstrated that past psycholinguistic studies in Japanese have overestimated human nonword reading accuracy. When the more fairly reevaluated human performance was targeted, a newly implemented Japanese PDP model simulated the target accuracy as well as the error patterns. These findings suggest that PDP models are a more parsimonious way of explaining reading across various languages. (shrink)

Let L be a countable relational language. Baldwin asked whether there is an ab initio generic L-structure which is superstable but not ω-stable. We give a positive answer to his question, and prove that there is no ab initio generic L-structure which is superstable but not ω-stable, if L is finite and the generic is saturated.

We research the political impact of how users access the Internet. Recent research suggests that Internet usage may promote political participation. Internet usage is proposed to be beneficial because it increases activity in diverse politicized social networks and through greater access to information. Even though Internet usage may begin as a non-political activity, we outline several reasons to believe that it may spark later political participation. This impact, however, is likely to be non-existent in new forms of Internet browsing such (...) as through mobile phones, where users do less full-scale browsing. The more difficult browsing interface of mobile phones reduces activity in chat rooms and in-depth browsing of online sources of information which promote participation. To test these ideas, we use nationally representative survey data from Japan, a country which has more pronounced usage of mobile phone browsing. Using a Seemingly Unrelated Regression Model, we also show that the chief determinants of using PC's over mobile phones for Internet browsing are age and education. We then show that PC-based Internet activity correlates with increased political participation, but mobile phone usage correlates with less participation. (shrink)