東島 仁

The advancement of science and technology has brought not only positive but also negative influences. As a result, people are finding it important to examine the potential consequences of science and technology and their effects on society. In this paper, we describe a public dialogue to examine the relationship between autism (Autism Spectrum Disorders) and society, with detailed methodology for conducting it. Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder; approximately one in 100 people have autism. The study of autism is one of the most active fields of research. The approximately 30 participants in the dialogue included various citizens, for example, entrepreneurs, autistic people, parents of young children with/without autism, educators, artists, and students. After being provided with sufficient information on autism, participants were divided into 5 groups to discuss the topic and offer proposals. Finally, 5 proposals for an autism-friendly society were announced; these can be viewed in English at http://ristex-kanazawa.w3.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/syoppu/Consensus.htm. In each proposal, the importance of collaborating with a variety of sectors such as citizens, medical institutions, schools, and other professionals was mentioned. We hope that these proposals will be a foundation for future discussions on the relationship between autism and society.

Because of its importance to society, the science of mind and behavior is an academic field in which ethical and social considerations are vital. When examining these issues, the opinions of life-science researchers must be considered. In this article, the authors elicit and describe the opinions of sixty-one Japanese life-science researchers on the ethical and social issues surrounding the science of mind and behavior. The results reveal significant diversity of opinions, especially when the subject was the genetic "enhancement" and "medical treatment" of human mental abilities. Moreover, there was a lack of consensus regarding the application of mind and behavior research to social policy. The results suggest that a wide range of lifescience researchers should be involved in discussions of these controversial but socially important issues. © National Science Council, Taiwan 2011.

Science communication now needs extending its activities to engage more various actors in intermediary organization linking science and society. Through a comparative analysis of 4 intermediaries in the UK, including the British Science Association (BA), Sciencewise-ERC, the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA), and the Research Information Network (RIN), this article first illustrates the variety of linking in these intermediaries as a motto like "from science to society / from society to science", "dialogue between science and society for policy", "science for society", and "science community as society". It then draws some lessons for the institutionalization and management of the corresponding organizations in Japan. Important might be the demonstration of the relevance of such organizations by collaborating external partners, promoting internal members' private activities and engaging them with formative evaluation.

近年，心・行動の生物学的な基盤を遺伝子の働きや遺伝情報を手掛かりに探る心・行動の生命科学が，急成長を続けている。その進展には，公共の福祉への大きな貢献と同時に，多くの社会・倫理的な課題が伴うことは人類の歴史から明らかである。本稿では，心・行動の生命科学の研究領域で世界的な注目を集め，今や100名に1人が持つとも言われる自閉症スペクトラム障害に着目し，関連領域の学術的な発展に伴う障害概念の変遷と，社会的影響を論ずる。自閉症スペクトラム障害概念、が形成される道のりは，医学的な症例研究に端を発した心・行動の生命科学研究における自閉症スペクトラム障害領域の発展と展開，そして社会との関わりの歴史である。本論では，まず自閉症スペクトラム障害を取り巻く世界，そして我が国の社会的な状況を概観する。次に，医学や生命科学が科学表象の産出を通じて該当概念、を形作る歴史的な流れを振り返る。そして，生命科学によって自閉症スペクトラム障害の生物学的な基盤が解明され，様々な技術が開発される過程で現代社会にもたらされつつある課題を考察する。There has been no greater task for the life sciences than elucidating the biological bases of mind & behavior. Science has made significant contributions to human welfare，but history shows that the rapid and overwelming advancement of research into mind & behavior have been accompanied by various social and ethical implications for human society. This article explores a historical change，the recent development of an important disease concept - autism spectrum disorders (ASD) - in genetic and genomic research of human mind & behavior. It then considers the ethical and social implications of this change in modern society. ASD is a group of neurodevelopmental disorders that is currently diagnosed by the observation of core behavioral symptoms. The prevalence of ASD is almost one in100. In this paper，I first try to describe the social and scientific context ASD, both in the past and present. 1 then examined some social and ethical issues resulting from representations and technologies that have，or will have emerged from the advancement of research in genetic and genomic aspects of ASD.