Honing Your Thinking with the Power of Science

In 1868, the year Keio University was named, Yukichi Fukuzawa wrote Japan's first introductory book on science, *Kinmo Research Bulletin Kyurizukai*. Fukuzawa felt a sense of crisis that most Japanese people lacked scientific thinking skills—in other words, that Japan's indigenous civilization itself lacked the principles of *kyurigaku* (physics)—and starting with this book, he repeatedly emphasized the importance of the natural sciences. Unfortunately, however, even now, 150 years later, our country's trend of drifting away from science has not changed. One reason for this is that in science and mathematics classes up to high school, there is not enough time for an education that delves deeply into the process by which theories are constructed or the fundamental principles that form their basis, and as a result, the fascination of the natural sciences is not fully conveyed.

In the process of the development of law and political science, scientific ways of thinking have played a major role. For all of you who will be majoring in these social sciences in the Faculty of Law, acquiring detailed knowledge of the natural sciences may not be that important. Rather, it is important to acquire a scientific way of thinking: to approach things with skepticism, consider them logically, and derive principles and laws after understanding the reasons behind them. The Faculty of Law offers many courses for students to take, including experimental subjects such as physics, chemistry, and biology, which are divided equally between lectures and experiments, as well as psychology, mathematics, statistics, special topics, and integrated courses. The natural sciences are by no means subjects of rote memorization of formulas and laws. Let's enjoy the true nature of the natural sciences to the fullest at university and cultivate the ability and spirit to do science.