• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Friday, August 1, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News

Virtue in Japan: perception differences among educational specialists and general public

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
April 9, 2024
in Science News
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Virtue is a normative concept comprising a set of moral and social codes acceptable to society. Historically, in the West, especially in ancient Greek and Christian belief systems, virtue was viewed as “excellence” aspirational to all human beings. In contrast, the East, especially in a Confucian belief system, viewed it similarly but being aspirational to only select individuals, such as rulers. However, the rise of modern values and sociopolitical overhauls almost pushed the concept of virtue into oblivion. 

Word clouds visualizing the words that educational specialists (ESs) and the general public (GP) associate with virtue

Credit: Koji Tachibana from Chiba University
Image Source Link: https://www.frontiersin.org/files/Articles/1171247/fpsyg-14-1171247

Virtue is a normative concept comprising a set of moral and social codes acceptable to society. Historically, in the West, especially in ancient Greek and Christian belief systems, virtue was viewed as “excellence” aspirational to all human beings. In contrast, the East, especially in a Confucian belief system, viewed it similarly but being aspirational to only select individuals, such as rulers. However, the rise of modern values and sociopolitical overhauls almost pushed the concept of virtue into oblivion. 

In the 20th century, however, virtue was resurged in academic fields, yet it remained relatively dormant in the public consciousness. Virtue impacts society in multiple ways—it is a concept commonly found in many cultures, associated with psychological and sociological studies, and reflected in the educational curricula of a country. Given that the notion of virtue has a multitiered impact on society, exploring potential perception differences between educational specialists (ESs) and the general public (GP) is the need of the hour. 

A recent study published in Frontiers in Psychology on 15 February 2024 explored these gaps in multicultural Japanese society. The study, conducted by Dr. Koji Tachibana and Dr. Eisuke Nakazawa, revealed that the concept of virtue was relatively unknown to the GP compared to ESs. The results also showed significant differences in how the GP and ESs perceive virtue. The GP identified with passive, emotional virtues, whereas the ESs identified with active, intellectual virtues. Notably, both groups thought positively of virtue but poorly understood the Confucian concept of virtue. 

Dr. Tachibana underscores the significance of the research, stating, “If there is a gap between the GP and ESs on the subject of virtue, where ESs frame discussions or publish textbooks neglecting this gap, they could contain errors in theoretical and empirical research on the concept of virtues and deter the actual design of an education system. Thus, we sought to endeavor on theoretical and practical perspectives to address the gaps between the GP and ESs groups in understanding virtue.” 
 
Accordingly, the team conducted an online survey in Japan targeting both groups. They recruited individuals of various ages and genders for the GP group and individuals from academic societies related to philosophy and education for the ES group. Subsequently, they evaluated the responses for the frequency of encountering the term “virtue” in daily life, the impressions associated with virtue, words associated with virtue, virtues that are difficult to understand, and virtues deemed important to either group.

Notably, the researchers arrived at five main conclusions: Firstly, the ES group was more familiar with the term “virtue” when compared to the GP group. Secondly, both groups held positive impressions of virtue. Thirdly, ESs tend to associate more with ancient Greek virtues, although both groups acknowledged Buddhist elements. Fourthly, there existed a mutual lack of understanding of Confucian virtues. Lastly, differences existed in the emphasis on virtues—the GP leans towards Eastern values while ESs toward Western ones.

These findings reveal that the notion of virtue was being perceived differently by different members of society. Practically, this points to the possibility of a gap in the understanding of the notion of virtue among ESs, which, if neglected, can have negative practical implications. The authors believe that since the ESs hold the power to influence the national curriculum, formulate educational policies, and authorize textbooks in the educational system, they must exercise caution in using the notion of virtue. On the contrary, not exercising caution in doing so could have a detrimental impact on the education system.    

Sharing his closing thoughts on the study, Dr. Tachibana says, “Our study showed that ESs and the GP understood virtue differently in Japan. This finding has several social implications in areas such as academic integrity and educational policy.” Indeed, the findings of this study could serve as a trailblazer for future studies about the concept of virtue in society. 

About Associate Professor Koji Tachibana
Associate Professor Koji Tachibana specializes in philosophy at the Faculty of Humanities, Chiba University, Japan. He is also an international associate scholar at Georgetown University Medical Center since 2015. Dr. Tachibana investigates the notion of virtue from four perspectives: ancient Greek philosophy, contemporary virtue ethics, Japanese philosophy, and philosophy of science. 
 



Journal

Frontiers in Psychology

DOI

10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1171247

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

The consciousness of virtue: uncovering the gaps between educational specialists and the general public in their understanding of virtue in Japan

Article Publication Date

15-Feb-2024

COI Statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

blank

Clade Ib Mpox Spread Among Sex Workers, Homes in DRC

August 1, 2025
CircRNAs Drive Neural Crest Migration in Hirschsprung’s Disease

CircRNAs Drive Neural Crest Migration in Hirschsprung’s Disease

August 1, 2025

Immortal Dragons Named Tier 4 Sponsor for ARDD 2025

August 1, 2025

Selective Templating Boosts Stable Perovskite Solar Cells

August 1, 2025

POPULAR NEWS

  • Blind to the Burn

    Overlooked Dangers: Debunking Common Myths About Skin Cancer Risk in the U.S.

    60 shares
    Share 24 Tweet 15
  • Dr. Miriam Merad Honored with French Knighthood for Groundbreaking Contributions to Science and Medicine

    46 shares
    Share 18 Tweet 12
  • Study Reveals Beta-HPV Directly Causes Skin Cancer in Immunocompromised Individuals

    37 shares
    Share 15 Tweet 9
  • Sustainability Accelerator Chooses 41 Promising Projects Poised for Rapid Scale-Up

    35 shares
    Share 14 Tweet 9

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Clade Ib Mpox Spread Among Sex Workers, Homes in DRC

CircRNAs Drive Neural Crest Migration in Hirschsprung’s Disease

Immortal Dragons Named Tier 4 Sponsor for ARDD 2025

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.