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“Spiritual Education” in a Japanese Bank 1
Author(s) -
ROHLEN THOMAS P.
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
american anthropologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1548-1433
pISSN - 0002-7294
DOI - 10.1525/aa.1973.75.5.02a00220
Subject(s) - spiritualism , value (mathematics) , set (abstract data type) , character (mathematics) , sociology , debt , epistemology , psychology , philosophy , medicine , alternative medicine , geometry , mathematics , finance , pathology , machine learning , computer science , economics , programming language
Many Japanese companies train their new employees according to a philosophy of “spiritualism,” a set of ideas about human psychology and character development that inspired much of the country's pre‐war education. “Spiritualism's” debts to the Zen, Confucian and samurai traditions are quite apparent. It emphasizes social cooperation and responsibility, an acceptance of reality, and perseverance. Its educational methods emphasize specially constructed training experiences. As a case study in the anthropology of education, Japanese company spiritual education points to the value of (1) studying educational processes outside formal school systems; (2) considering native concepts of psychology in analyzing educational processes; (3) finding relationships between educational techniques and techniques found in religious conversion, psychological therapy, and social initiation; and (4) discovering avenues of education that proceed by non‐verbal means.