ABSTRACT

Many Japanese have concerns that they may be more illogical thinkers than Westerners (e.g., Nakamura, 1985). There are two possible rationales for their concern. The first and biggest one is the phantom of white supremacy and social Darwinism in the 19th century. The ground for white supremacy is the historical fact that it was neither Asian nor African countries, but Western countries that held hegemony over the world in the 19th century. Many people believed Westerners were more intelligent than other peoples (e.g., Said, 1978). Their belief was reinforced by the notion of social Darwinism. It is a general name given to various theories that apply biological concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to social sciences. According to this, the Western civilization and culture are the most developed through natural selection and survival of the fittest. Even though contemporary Japan is a high-tech country, many Japanese believe it was achieved by their imitation of Western industry products. They are still not confident that Easterners including Japanese are as intelligent as Westerners.