2023/07/21
On Saturday, July 8, the 2023 Shinzo Koizumi Memorial Lecture was held at the North Building Hall on Mita Campus, featuring a lecture by Shigeru Watanabe, Professor Emeritus of Keio University, titled "The Origins of Beauty and Morality from an Animal Perspective." After completing the Doctoral Programs at the Graduate School of Human Relations at Keio University, Professor Emeritus Watanabe earned his Ph.D. in Letters (Psychology) and served as an assistant, associate professor, and professor in the university's Faculty of Letters. He has received prestigious awards such as the Ig Nobel Prize in 1995, the Japanese Psychological Association's International Award for Distinguished Contribution to Psychology in 1997, and the Yamashina Yoshimaro Memorial Ornithology Award in 2020.
In his lecture, he noted that judgments of beauty and morality have similarities, in that both can be made quickly and are considered to be unique to humans, and went on to explain behaviors in non-human animals that are analogous to aesthetic and moral judgments. He also explained that "empathy" has recently been observed in animals, and discussed empathy as an "origin of morality." He also touched on how inequity aversion, which arises from comparing oneself to others, and social relative comparison can lead to behavior that is not necessarily rational. The lecture concluded by providing a valuable opportunity for the audience to reflect on the "origins of irrational human behavior."
All participants listened intently, and the event was a lively one, including an active Q&A session.
About the Shinzo Koizumi Memorial Lecture:
Photo by Aki Takematsu