東京大学21世紀COEプログラム 心とことば−進化認知科学的展開
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About the Center for Evolutionary Cognitive Sciences (COE-ECS) at the University of Tokyo

What is a human being?
This question has long been a major theme of the humanities. However, new light can be shed on this old question by addressing it within the natural sciences. The aim of this COE project is an integrative cross-disciplinary study of the human mind and human language, a study which is expected to provide a central part of the answer to this question. The areas covered will include cognitive science, linguistics, evolutionary anthropology, evolutionary psychology, genetics, pediatrics, and information science. Taking "universality and variety/idiosyncrasy" as a key unifying concept, the project will try to develop a thorough understanding of the mechanisms, functions, development, and evolution of the human mind and human language, with an ultimate goal of developing a new integrative science of the human being. Our project is expected to bring to light the underlying mental mechanisms as well as the biological basis of human language, altruism, aggression and the ability to understand others. By making the results of the research available to the general public, the project will contribute to the furthering of human understanding in our current age of globalization. As a cornerstone of establishing this new integrative science, we will also educate a new generation of scientists through foreign exchanges and interdisciplinary interaction, cultivating their ability to view scientific issues broadly from a variety of perspectives.