Yasushi Maruyama

Ethics Education for Professionals in Japan: A critical review

Ethics education for professionals has become popular in Japan over the last two decades. Many professional schools now require students to take an applied ethics or professional ethics course. In contrast, very few courses of professional ethics for teaching exist or have been taught in Japan. In order to obtain suggestions for teacher education, this paper reviews and examines practices of ethics education for engineers and nurses in Japan that have been successfully implemented. The paper concludes that difficulties in professional ethics education in Japan are caused by the fact that both teachers and students lack experience in leading and participating in discussion‐based classes and misunderstand the effectiveness of a case‐based pedagogy. It also suggests that we need to offer teachers systematic opportunities to be trained to be proficient in enabling students to be active and critical in class.

Elucidation in the Transition of Wittgenstein’s Philosophy

‘Elucidation ’ was an important concept for Wittgenstein’s early philosophy. It is argued that he carried over some features of Tractarian elucidation in his transition from the early to the later philosophy. His consideration of ostensive teaching as elucidation and Ubersicht as an elucidating method is shown to be crucial for the development and consistency of his philosophy.

How Should We Recognize the Otherness of Learners? Hegelian and Wittgensteinian Views

In order to specify how the otherness of learners appears and disappears in educational situations, I will compare the discussions of Georg W. F. Hegel and Ludwig Wittgenstein . Hegel and his successors are concerned about the master–slave dialectic, in which the two reverse their relationship. Self-Consciousness is described as a struggle with the other for recognition from the beginning. Wittgenstein , on the other hand, does not describe “the other” as either a fighter or an oppressed person. He specifies grammatical features of “the other” in educational relationships. The otherness of learners appears when they make the teaching –learning language games break down. Their otherness merely disappears when they agree over our practices or forms of life, and it can appear again anytime. It is argued that it is not the Hegelian concept of Otherness but the Wittgensteinian one which explains features of “the other” in educational relationships. I will finally elaborate on what Wittgenstein’s consideration could tell about the recognition of the otherness of learner .

The Significance of Network Ethics Education in Japanese Universities: A Global Citizenship Education for Building a Moral Community in the Globalized Network Society

Cell phone abuse amongst Japanese school students, including sex crimes and bullying, are commonly managed with filters and phone bans. Many believe these measures are more effective than moral education. Japanese teenagers therefore enter college without moral education in the Internet society, which can cause problems on campus: students plagiarizing from the Internet, or posting anonymous defamatory messages on bulletin boards. Japanese universities address these problems ineffectively. Problems are caused by both student ignorance of network ethics and moral immatureness. Therefore, it is insufficient to provide only information ethics knowledge; students require a citizenship education to learn to build a moral community in the globalized network society. Here, the authors examine the effectiveness and difficulties in the practice of educating students to be moral subjects in such a society. Students are encouraged to debate ethical and practical issues, to express ethical remarks, and to understand the impact of their remarks.