{"id":2884,"date":"2015-02-25T06:06:40","date_gmt":"2015-02-25T06:06:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/revoscience.com\/en\/?p=2884"},"modified":"2015-02-25T06:06:40","modified_gmt":"2015-02-25T06:06:40","slug":"the-mission-of-waseda-university-independence-of-learningand-cooperation-of-academic-staff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/the-mission-of-waseda-university-independence-of-learningand-cooperation-of-academic-staff\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mission of Waseda University \u201cIndependence of Learning\u201dand Cooperation of Academic Staff"},"content":{"rendered":"

An opinion piece by Professor Masakatsu Tamura of Waseda University, Japan<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

1. Waseda University’s Foundation and Spirit- Independence of Learning<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

A policy subordinate to America<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"
<\/span><\/a><\/span> Waseda University<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The founding spirit of Waseda University is \u201cIndependence of Learning.\u201dMarquis Shigenobu Okuma argued that academic independence leads to independence of the nation, and this is a maxim that applies equally today. The importance of this truth can be seen clearly in the numerous policy problems that have arisen in recent years.<\/span><\/p>\n

Discussions at the Miyazawa-Clinton meetingof 1993 led to the submission of abroad-ranging Annual Reform Recommendations document to the Japanese government, which has diligently implemented these recommendations. Examples of such policies include privatization of the post office, financial globalization, market valuation of share prices, and the Act on the Protection of Specially Designated Secrets, all of which were implemented in response to American recommendations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Discussions at the Miyazawa-Clinton meetingof 1993 led to the submission of abroad-ranging Annual Reform Recommendations document to the Japanese government, which has diligently implemented these recommendations. Examples of such policies include privatization of the post office, financial globalization, market valuation of share prices, and the Act on the Protection of Specially Designated Secrets, all of which were implemented in response to American recommendations.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Structural Calculation Forgery Problem also has its roots in the switch from \u201cspecifications standards\u201d to \u201cperformance standards\u201d under an amendment to the Building Standards Act that was implemented based on the Annual Reform Recommendations. In recent years, health care reforms and the TPP policy have been implemented in accordance with the American recommendations, as has the establishment of \u201claw schools\u201d under changes to the legal system.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the fact that Japan has the worst fiscal deficit of all developed nations is related to the Structural Impediments Initiative talks between Japan and the United States. America demanded public investment by Japan of 430 trillion yen over a ten-year period in 1991 and 630 trillion yen in 1995 with the aim of controlling Japanese exports, and the Japanese government met these demands to a large degree.<\/span><\/p>\n

Academic self-examination<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Why has the Japanese government adopted an America-subservient policy to such an extent? One of the main explanations lies in the fact that Japan has not established \u201cacademic independence.\u201dThe majority of Japan\u2019s financial and industrial leaders, bureaucrats, politicians, members of government advisory bodies, university teachers and mass media representatives have received an American-style practical education, including American-style economics, and in many cases it is the only approach they can utilize.<\/span><\/p>\n

Accordingly, despite the fact that what are referred to by America as \u201cglobal standards\u201d are in reality no more than \u201cAmerican standards,\u201d these have been accepted by Japan as \u201cglobal standards.\u201d Paradoxically, the maxim that academic independence leads to independence of the nation has been shown in this way to be extremely accurate. Rather than simply repeating foreign learning in parrot fashion, there is a need to receive foreign learning with a critical eye, but this approach has been lacking.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. The demands of society and self-improvement<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Academia as light in the chaos<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAcademic independence\u201d means the out-and-out pursuit of truth, and is the essence of academic freedom. The reason why academic freedom is insisted upon under the Constitution is to guarantee the thorough pursuit of truth without the need to cater to current public opinion. The very fact that society is frivolous to the point of pursuing rapid globalization and rapidly changing social systems, including businesses, means that the \u201cunchanging universal truth\u201d is something that society demands more than ever from its universities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Human thought is forced to consider the concrete problems faced in day-to-day life, but it also focuses on \u201cuniversal truth,\u201d including metaphysical thinking. The late-medieval philosopher Nicolaus Cusanus referred to this kind of philosophical wandering as \u201cdiscursus,\u201d and this word is the origin of the English word \u201cdiscourse,\u201d which means discussionor debate. Accordingly, while \u201cpractical learning\u201d is necessary, at the same time society also requires \u201cuniversal truth,\u201d which is something that we cannot expect to obtain from practical learning.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is this pursuit of universal truth that provides the \u201cchink of light\u201d that allows us to reflect on where we have come from, to project the future course, and to set out the purpose and direction of society itself. Academic learning that lacks this approach is, even if it is adapted to globalization, rationalization and corporate interests, nothing more than a rootless pursuit that ultimately becomes swallowed up in the torrents of the times.<\/span><\/p>\n

Learning in a broad sense and self-improvement<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Modern social science has its roots in interdisciplinary learning, including British \u201cmoral philosophy,\u201d French \u201csocial philosophy\u201d and German \u201clegal philosophy.\u201d However, modern rationalism has led these pursuits to be divided into \u201csocial sciences,\u201d which have been further categorized and \u201cspecialized\u201d in the same way as the natural sciences. The goal is to pursue \u201coptimization\u201d in each of these fields. However, when all of this individual optimization comes together, the danger arises of a \u201cfallacy of composition,\u201d as is most clearly typified by the destruction of the natural environment.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the early 1970s, Kenneth Boulding argued that the devil is in the optimization of the parts, as a warning against the sinking of \u201cSpaceship Earth.\u201dPrior to this, Karl Jaspers divided learning into the \u201cnarrow learning\u201d of specialization and \u201cbroad learning.\u201d He pointed out that narrow specialization was nothing more than a fragmented system with no use for the \u201cself-improvement\u201d of people, and therefore that broad learning was essential.This is nothing less than \u201cbroad learning based on universal philosophies.\u201dFor this reason, specialized learning always needs to keep this philosophy in mind.<\/span><\/p>\n

Along with the popularization of university education, many of today\u2019s students see university as a passport to employment and a passport to success. However, at a more fundamental level, the reason they entered university was to ask the question \u201cWhat is a meaningful life?\u201d and to pursue self-improvement. Students who are not aware of this need to be made aware of it. The mission of a university is the pursuit of \u201cuniversal truth\u201d as a way of responding to this goal. At essence, this is what \u201cIndependence of Learning\u201d at Waseda University boils down to, and the mission of Waseda University is to continue pursuing a community united by its three part\u2014the students, the teachers and the staff for this purpose.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An opinion piece by Professor Masakatsu Tamura of Waseda University, Japan 1. Waseda University’s Foundation and Spirit- Independence of Learning A policy subordinate to America The founding spirit of Waseda University is \u201cIndependence of Learning.\u201dMarquis Shigenobu Okuma argued that academic independence leads to independence of the nation, and this is a maxim that applies equally […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-education"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/download-13.jpg",222,147,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/download-13-150x147.jpg",150,147,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/download-13.jpg",222,147,false],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/download-13.jpg",222,147,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/download-13.jpg",222,147,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/download-13.jpg",222,147,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/download-13.jpg",222,147,false],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/download-13.jpg",222,147,false],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/download-13.jpg",222,147,false],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/download-13.jpg",222,147,false],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/download-13.jpg",222,147,false],"newspaper-x-single-post":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/download-13.jpg",222,147,false],"newspaper-x-recent-post-big":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/download-13.jpg",222,147,false],"newspaper-x-recent-post-list-image":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/download-13.jpg",95,63,false],"web-stories-poster-portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/download-13.jpg",222,147,false],"web-stories-publisher-logo":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/download-13.jpg",96,64,false],"web-stories-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/download-13.jpg",150,99,false]},"author_info":{"info":["Amrita Tuladhar"]},"category_info":"Culture<\/a> Education<\/a>","tag_info":"Education","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}