Certain kinds of neurological disorder which affect corporeal awareness and proprioception seem to indicate that one's body has a psychological dimension besides the material dimension. In this paper, examining cases of phantom limb and asomatognosia, we confirm that the body consists of two dimensions, the material and the psychological. From this viewpoint it is possible to say that the ordinary state of the body is an overlap of these two dimensions. Secondly, we seek to clarify the contents of embodied knowledge by re-examining the notion of body schema. Body schema is a term that appeared in neurology, which has been used to explain the subconscious schematic process underlying proprioception and corporeal awareness. The philosophy of Merleau-Ponty developed and extended the notion of body schema and successfully described the mechanism of one's habitual actions. Here we see the budding discussion on embodied knowledge. The contents of embodied knowledge are (1) subconsciously recognizing the spatial relation between one's body and surroundings, (2) expanding corporeal awareness to the end of instruments through repeated practice.

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Among recent discussions on euthanasia and death with dignity, there are two contrasting views. One emphasizes the importance of patient's self-determination, and the other the importance of compassion for dependent patients. It is commonly regarded as the difference between the independent character of the American culture and the dependent character of the Japanese culture. The conflict has created confusion among medical staffs since the introduction of American bioethics to Japan. This paper discusses the question of whether and how these two ways of thinking can be coordinated. Views of medical moral philosophers and reports of representative commissions in Germany are noteworthy. In recent years, German researchers do not stress patient's autonomy one-sidedly, but try to coordinate it with patient's dependence on family members and medical staff. Secondly, patient's attitude toward alternative medicine should be addressed. A patient shows a trend toward positive participation in medical treatment through his or her own behavior. Through this study, the author would like to suggest possibilities of combining the idea of self-determination with that of compassion.

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We previously clarified that acupuncture and moxibustion applied to strongly reactive points had increased AI (Aging Index) and affected the pH of the local epidermis. In this study, we evaluated the influences of acupuncture and moxibustion on the ORP (Oxidation-Reduction Potential), AI and pH of saliva and urine. In treatment group, the pH of saliva decreased. While the ORP of urine showed decrease, its pH showed increase after treatment. In dietary group, the ORP of saliva decreased but its pH showed increase. The ORP of urine increased but its pH showed decrease. In the study of the α-amylase activity, treatment group showed significant decrease, whereas dietary group showed significant increase. Our data demonstrate that the AI and pH of both saliva and urine showed opposite changes between treatment and dietary group. Similarly, salivary α-amylase activity showed opposite changes between two groups.

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Thoughtography was a process of interaction of human consciousness to an optical film in a shielded room. The temporal changes in SPD (Silicon-Photo-Diode, solar battery) were recorded during thoughtography experiments conducted in a dark box shielded from light. Chaos analysis was performed to the time series of recorded SPD. There were complexity structures in chaos attractors reconstructed from time series of SPD by time delayed method. We computed the correlation dimension (D2) and found having lower values from 1.94-2.25 in our thoughtography experiments, indicating that the mechanisms underlying the thoughtography could be modeled as lower dimensional deterministic chaotic processes. We hence assumed that Qi-related nonlinear interactions played an important role in responding to the emergence of chaotic phenomena in the thoughtography processes.

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This study aims to investigate the physical approach expected of expert Kindergarten's teachers. To this end, the focus is placed on a trait that has been identified in previous research as the physical sense of "resonance", which teachers are expected to display as experts. By clarifying, in concrete terms, the conditions for the achievement of physical resonance, and the course of change in the relation between teachers and children, in the context of actual care between teachers and children, this study attempts to investigate the physical approach currently expected of expert teachers. As a result, it has become clear that three actions-(1) simultaneously coordinating and making use of voice, line of sight, posture, etc.; (2) mutually receiving an image of the activity and providing new images; and (3) building the image of the activity to a climax in the final stages-that are performed instinctively and subconsciously between teachers and children, according to the situation, bring about the achievement of physical resonance and its sustenance. Also, it is suggested here that, to maintain the Active Intuition proactively brought forth by teachers, such teachers should accumulate care experience in the awareness of the "Body/Mind integration" that defines their future physical way of being.

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Purpose: Acupuncture is used to treat the pain of Heberden's nodes in the fingers, and reports have shown it to be effective. This study examined the effectiveness of acupuncture that used a reactive point that differed from the usual acupoints. Cases: Four subjects who were treated at different times for different periods are presented Methods: A spoon needle was used for treatment. For the acupuncture, a reactive point rather than one of the traditional acupoints was used, but the reactive point differed in each subject. In each patient, a specific reactive point could be identified in the affected finger for use as the treatment point. There were two kinds of reactive points: a plus point (moxibustion point) and a minus point (moxibustion forbidden point). Each reactive point was treated once weekly. Results: Pain disappeared, finger thickness appeared to decrease, and finger movement was improved in all four cases. Conclusion: Acupuncture treatment using a reactive point appears to be effective for Heberden's nodes. Until now, there has been no effective treatment for Heberden's nodes.

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